For as long as Intel has been in business, it has created a plethora of chip types to sell to consumers, from processors to chipsets and beyond. In all that time, it has never created chips for other companies, but as it appears, that’s beginning to change. The company has entered into an agreement to create chips for Achronix Semiconductor, looks simple but could turn into something big.
Achronix Semiconductor develops Field Programmable Gate Arrays, which are in essence chips with programmable components. This isn’t exactly a competing product with anything else Intel offers, or will likely ever offer, so in that regard the agreement makes sense. According to Achronix, Intel’s 22nm process is top-rate, and the best option for the company. The product, Achronix Speedster22i, will boast a 300% gain in performance, 50% lower power drain and 40% less cost than FPGAs built on a 28nm process.
What this move means for Intel’s future is up in the air, but it could be that this might become a more regular occurrence, where it becomes not just a semiconductor builder, but also a contract builder, similar to TSMC. Being that Intel has numerous fabs, this kind of move would help keep things rolling all the time, and increase revenues even further.
It might not seem to matter too much in the big scheme of things, but it’s an interesting and notable move nonetheless. Intel could be testing the field right now to see how things go, but if it goes well, we might just see it branch out even further in the years ahead.
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