Intel and TSMC have struck a deal to co-manufacture Atom system-on-chips. According to PC Mag:
Intel and foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have struck a deal to allow customers to design their own Atom system-on-a-chip processors and manufacture them at TSMC.
Intel is not outsourcing the Atom processor, as this reporter speculated on Friday. Customers who wish to buy standalone Atom chips will buy them from Intel, and Intel has not altered its Atom roadmap or production.
Intel, however, has also made the Atom a cornerstone of a system-on-a-chip strategy, such as the "Moorestown" and "Lincroft" for the mobile Internet device market. Now, an Intel customer will be able to use TSMC's process flow, tools, and intellectual property (both from TSMC and its partners) to create their own Atom-based system-on-a-chip products, which will be sold under the Intel brand.
"It's enabling Atom on TSMC,"said Anand Chandrasekher, general manager of Intel's Ultra Mobility division, during a conference call Monday morning. "It will allow TSMC to go after new market segments and allow Intel and TSMC to go after new market segments together."
This deal will inevitably be more beneficial for TSMC but it will also enable Intel to penetrate other market segments more easily and one would guess enable system-on-chip designers to leverage some of the advantages of the Intel Atom processor for their own designs. Its an interesting partnership to say the least.
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