AMD is set to partner with Britain-based ARM Holdings in a bid to spread its wings beyond the PC industry.
On Monday, May 5, California-based AMD announced its partnership with ARM, revealing that it had managed to acquire an architectural license from ARM, and also revealed that it had "Project SkyBridge" and K12 chips in the pipeline. AMD's computing solutions will look to combine the best features of its notable x86 and ARM ecosystems.
"Before today, AMD was the only company in the world to deliver high performance and low-power x86 with leadership graphics. AMD now takes a bold step forward and has become the only company that can provide high-performance 64-bit ARM and x86 CPU cores paired with world-class graphics," says Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. "Our innovative ambidextrous design capability, combined with our portfolio of IP and expertise with high-performance SoCs, means that AMD is set to deliver ambidextrous solutions that enable our customers to change the world in more efficient and powerful ways."
With the new license from ATM in its kitty, AMD will be well poised to tailor its chip architecture so that it can be different from those of competitors who deploy the same on products using ARM technology as well. For the uninitiated, ARM's low-power technology is deployed in tablets and smartphones.
AMD is looking to throw the gauntlet to rivals like Intel as the company also intends to launch low-power chips that are based on the ARM architecture.
AMD's roadmap for the future includes "Project SkyBridge" for 2015 and this "design framework" will focus on 20 new nanometer APUs and system on chips (SoCs). The key feature of these is that they will hold the distinction of being the first pin-compatible ARM and x86 processors in the world.
Moreover, the 64-bit ARM variant of the same will build on the ARM Cirtex A57 core architecture and will be the company's first-ever Heterogeneous System Architecture
(HSA) platform for Google's Android. In case you were wondering about the x86 variant, this will feature the Puma+ CPU core.
Come 2016, AMD is looking to push out its custom low-power 64-bit ARM core called K12.
With several firsts up its sleeve, the future looks quite rosy for AMD as it gears up to expand its horizons.
