
Intel becomes a foundry, offers up its 22nm process - Flemlord
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/119435-intel-becomes-a-foundry-offers-up-its-22nm-process
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imr
Achronix has been in partnership with Intel for over a year:

[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870447790457558...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704477904575586480266005538.html#articleTabs%3Darticle)

[http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4210263/Intel-to-
fab...](http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4210263/Intel-to-fab-FPGAs-
for-startup-Achronix)

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huxley
Gotta think that Intel and Apple must be having discussions about moving
successors to the A5 chips over to Intel's process.

Getting Apple's ARM processors moved to 22mm would be a spectacular coup for
both Apple and Intel. You'd think that the volume and funds Apple brings would
paper over any hard feelings about not using x86.

~~~
polshaw
It would be fantastic for apple, but not so sure about intel.

Remember, intel are right now trying to bring atom-- itself not even on the
22nm process yet-- to exactly the space that the A5 occupies. It would seem
suicidal to give away their process advantage against ARM at exactly the time
they are pushing hard to get Atom caught up with their lead process (going
22nm next year and 14nm the year after; the same time as their full power
processors).

It will be interesting to see if there are any high end ARM chips made at
intel, or if they just stick to areas they deem to not be competing with them
(which can't be a lot that needs 22nm?)

~~~
Loic
It would not be suicidal, why? Because they have the 22nm lead and will most
likely keep the lead for years. It means that Apple will not be able to go
back to another provider with the same performance. Which means they can lock
Apple and force Apple hand. This would be brilliant.

~~~
polshaw
It would be suicidal for their aim of getting atom into tablets and
smartphones, I meant. (Which would almost certainly hold more profit than
making someone else's processor.)

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wtvanhest
It could just be that Intel wants to increase their stock price and sees low
hanging fruit for expanding revenue and net income in the foundry business
which does not damage any of their other competitive positions.

They have ramped up capacity recently and it is beneficial to them to fill
that capacity rather than shut it down if they can add some revenue.

Later if they need that capacity for higher margin products like some x86
phone processor that none of us know about Intel can end their agreements with
the fabless semiconductor companies and produce their own.

~~~
ajross
It still competes with their CPU business if it takes fab capacity they could
otherwise use for (much higher margin!) CPUs. I suspect, as the linked article
posits, this is a hedge. They want to maintain the capability to do on-
contract fab work, so partnering with a handful of small volume firms (who can
be purchased if it turns out they are successful) makes sense.

Intel won't be hooking up with a big ARM SoC designer any time soon.

~~~
wtvanhest
Yes, if there is a market for their higher end CPU business then that would
make sense, but presumably they would be using those fabs for that business if
they thought there was a market for those units at this point.

I'm saying that Intel may think that the market size for computer processors
will continue to grow and this would be space they could fill if necessarily.
Realistically though, they would probably just build more fabs.

~~~
ajross
They are using them for that business. Intel's fabs are at capacity, and
they're building a new giant one in Oregon right now.

~~~
williadc
Not just D1X in Oregon. Fab 42 is being built in Chandler, Arizona as well.

~~~
wtvanhest
They are also building one in China. A fab produces an enormous number of
chips, they are building more capacity than is currently required by the
market.

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ippisl
In a world when a unique soc design using the new processes is becoming more
and more rare(because it costs a lot), most of those designs have large
programmable components , to enable many uses and many chips sold.

Now, if you make the best programmable components, you'll sell most of the
chips that use new processes, and thus financially strangle other chip
manufacturers.

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Symmetry
Another option might be that they're looking to integrate FPGAs on Haswell
dies.

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latch
Seems pretty simple to me: they have spare capacity.

~~~
nivertech
... and this how FabCloud was born ;)

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ableal
_"The other option is that Intel might be looking to boost the performance of
its upcoming smartphone- and tablet-oriented Medfield platform."_

I'd go with that one (the first reason was pretty implausible). Get the third
party suppliers used to doing test chips on their fab, then pick and choose
silicon-proven blocks like the SoC builders on ARM &co are used to.

Possibly, it would be a good idea to have more than one buyer (Intel) in that
market ...

