AMD confirms fab spinoff
Updated Almost
Update
AMD says that Dirk was misquoted. His original quote
mentioned radically transforming the way wafers are manufactured, but nothing
about spinning off fabs. Throw in some drinks, scantily clad fab workers, and
the thin air of Austin's high altitude, and you can see how things came out the
way they did. We still stand by our
original
story.
AMD JUST CONFIRMED our story about spinning off its fabs. Since it was uttered by newly-fabbed CEO Dirk Meyer in an Austin American Statesman interview, it is going to be hard to spin.
Buried about halfway down the article, here, is the golden quote, "And Meyer says the company is just months away from a major restructuring that will spin the manufacturing operations off into a separate company, with new ownership." If you have been paying attention, the likely suitor is from Abu Dhabi, but that may have changed.
In any case, it was a done deal last winter, it is a done deal now, there is just paperwork left to do. AMD has been busily prepping all close partners, upstream, downstream and governmental, about the shift for a long time, so expect things to go pretty smoothly.
Fire up the Bloomberg terminals. Today is going to be a fun one, even if the best names are already spoken for. µ
Comments
Keeping OLd Guard in Place.
Did You see hon mccain in Maine yesterday? No One at Airport, No Family along, No Secret Service or Press. well, Johns' Just PLAIN OLD.People dismiss OLD as Something to Get or Get Rid of. FABS are Building, NOT Horses'.
Switch John to 32 Nm process & make Dresden for President? People are just never satisfied with Present.Youth is NEW, Yet Cost of Furbishing Anything NEW is AWESOME.
AMD Should Maybe go Next Step & Make AMD Computers, Full Box & Sell Retail ?Direct,too.
drashek
ROFLOL
if a company has a major typo on its own frontpage, one might question the seriousness of "Manufaturing" (sic) anythingPS: in reference to the link of "best names" being already spoken http://www.amdmanufacturing.com/
watch this space !!
im with you charlie, thunderbirds are go, inflation, oil prices, recession, WTF you peeps talking about lol :O)
its nice to have new pals innit, added bonus ball, isnt silicon similar to glass, errrrm sand ??
let the good times roll daamit :O)
Selling Fabs?
I'd like to see how that would work. I mean TSMC works because they have tons of customers. How could AMD Fabs run just on AMDs business?Foundries usually charge less per chip but also make less per chip with the R&D on their shoulders.
Now if some of the SOI consortium decides to let AMD fab their chips, then perhaps separate fabs could make enough money to grow.
I wish they would have stopped dropping prices before these huge losses. Of course, Intel kicking the bottom out of dual core with a $183 E6300 didn't help but Hector should have most definitely blinked and not pretended that AMD could play pricing games with a company 10X its size.
Hopefully Dirk is a little more modest.
AMD goes lite
If Dirk is being misquoted, why is he allowed to speak to the press? Why does AMD have to pay people whose only function is to tell people that the CEO doesn't know what he is talking about? If I were the CEO, I'd fire them for implying I was incompetent!Why the f**k can't these corporate butt-licking weenies get it through their pointed heads that we are just as smart as they are and know when someone is lying to us. The AMD "lite" strategy has been known about for months, thanks to you. Why can't those corporate drooling morons just admit it and move forward? Does AMD really need those kind of people drawing salaries?
Excellent journalism
Why change the name of the article and put your correction at the top of the piece when you can get more hits by keeping the old, more flamboyant (albeit completely incorrect) name?The above is sarcasm, for our ESL friends.
Bizzareee....
All I can say is I told you so...2 years ago Charlie, when you broke the AMD ATI aquisitions rumors, I already told you it's a mistake to take ATI in AMD umbrella.
1. Most of ATI business is with Intel. Now with the new Intel socket, do you really think Intel would license it's bus to ATI? How would ATI make an integrated chipset for mainstream computer without intel new sockets license?
All ATI can do now is making integrated chipsets for AMD. But how much is that in the PC world industries? Shutting yourself from a "NEUTRAL" GPU/Chipset company to 1 side (the LITLLE side mind you) is a STUPID/SUICIDAL business decision for me.
2. Lost of ATI's Intel business bleed AMD even more. AMD have in it's possession a losing business company. In time where even it's own business were already in trouble. Losing 1 billion dollar in just 1Q is not a good business by any measure.
3. Now AMD want to LOSE it's own foundry. ATI might be able to to get away by going fabless cause their current biggest rival (NV) also fabless.
But AMD biggest rival have it's own foundry with a generation (at least) more advance process than AMD. INQ already broke the news that Intel already playing with 23nm node when AMD just started to produce 45nm node.
Should AMD lose it's own foundry; that would mean AMD would depend on it's foundry partners for doing their next-gen node. If their foundry partners have a problem in their next-gen node, AMD would be in boiling water in no time at all! All of their roadmap would kick back to later date than their rival!!!
Judging by what the semicon equipment manufacture said, a lower node would be extremely difficult and costly. Do AMD REALLY want to walk this road I wonder? Let OUTSIDE foundry do the R&D for their next-gen node CPU???
They already have a heated debate between Semicon Equip Maker whether to use 193nm Lamp with double patterning in wet scanners or use EUV lamp single pattern multi phase or double pattern. Let alone whether to continue using 300mm wafer or to go to next 450mm to offset the higher cost of lower node equipments.
Do AMD really want to trust their foundry partners that they can deliver the promised AMD roadmap in AMD time frame??? I don't think so people....
Over time it looks AMD moves become more and more bizzare to me. It would be interesting if this move is true, whether this AMD "ASSET-LITE" moves could saved their already troubled company.
Regards,
Curious One
Still Not Sold
I'm still not sure how they can do this. Their license with Intel clearly states that they can't farm out their entire production of x86 chips. Unless there's some unannounced loophole, the best AMD can hope to do is sell off a 49% stake in the Fab business, while retaining a controling interest.@Curious One
...there is a gaping flaw in your logic - if Intel refused AMD a bus license it would be deemed anticompetative and they'd have more government suits to deal with than the coffee machine at Langley on the day after Thanksgiving. No way it would happen.And a pint of what Oldie_Ultie's drinking, landlord.
AMD chips for intel chips
I could be mistaken but i thought that the last chipset i say for Intel from ati was the 6xx which was only on a DFI and that was like a year ago. I dont think AMD will be jumping for a csi license anytime soon.Ummm
Austin is only ~600ft above sea level...