AMD dumps Globalfoundries stake and cancels 28nm APU deal
CHIP DESIGNER AMD has further distanced itself from Globalfoundries by transferring its remaining stake in the venture to Globalfoundries and canceling its 28nm APU exclusivity deal with the chip firm.
AMD's fab operations were spun off to create Globalfoundries, a separate company in which the chip designer had significant equity. Over time AMD has watered down its interest in the firm and now has transferred its remaining shares in the venture to Globalfoundries, effectively severing its business ties.
Although AMD and Globalfoundries signed a revised wafer supply agreement, which will continue to see the two firms work to stamp out AMD chips, there is little doubt that AMD wanted out. Rory Read, CEO at AMD might have said, "We made significant progress last year to strengthen our relationship, and we're pleased with Globalfoundries' recent performance in meeting our delivery requirements across our product line," but he also handed over $425m in cash to cancel the exclusivity agreement that AMD had with Globalfoundries to fab 28nm APUs later this year.
Globalfoundries was widely recognised to have been AMD's Achilles' heel. The repeated delays in the fab's 28nm process node hurt AMD, with the firm quietly signing a deal with IBM to start making chips.
AMD still uses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its GPUs, with the latest crop of Southern Islands chips being fabbed at 28nm. Although shortages have meant that AMD couldn't get as many Radeon HD 7000 series GPUs to market as it would have liked, the chips have immense overclockability, a sure sign that the process node has matured well.
AMD did not say whether its 28nm APU business will end up in the hands of IBM or TSMC, but it is looking increasingly less likely that the firm will send business to Globalfoundries in the future.
