AMD announces new embedded chips as PC business shrinks

SAN FRANCISCO — Advanced Micro Devices Inc, targeting new markets as personal computer sales decline, unveiled chips designed to run slot machines, factory robots, airport signs, medical equipment and other devices.

One of Silicon Valley’s oldest chipmakers, AMD has been losing money as consumers increasingly favor tablets over laptops and desktops.

AMD wants to customize more of its chips for a wide range of non-PC devices. It expects PC chip designs modified for those new devices to account for at least a fifth of its revenue by the end of 2013.

The chips announced Monday, all code-named after predatory birds such as the Bald Eagle, are for graphics, low-power devices and high-performance computing. They will be available next year.

AMD is planning a push into the small but growing microserver market, combining ARM Holdings’ architecture typically used in smartphones with the x86 architecture common in servers. Unlike ARM chips for smartphones, AMD’s ARM chips will be 64 bits, allowing them to make better use of memory in data centers.

“With x86 it’s something we’ve had a long time. With ARM, we’re helping build the 64-bit ecosystem along with industry leaders,” Arun Iyengar, general manager of embedded solutions at AMD, told reporters at a news conference.

Asked about progress in non-PC markets, Iyengar said AMD’s chips are widely used in airplanes’ heads-up displays as well as in medical imaging equipment and factory robots.

AMD processors are being used in Microsoft Corp’s upcoming Xbox One and Sony Corp’s next-generation PlayStation game consoles, both set to launch later this year.

Worldwide shipments of PCs are likely to fall 9.7 percent this year as consumers continue to favor mobile gadgets, IDC said in a recent report.

source: interaksyon.com

AMD hires chip veterans, diversifies beyond PCs

SAN FRANCISCO — Advanced Micro Devices Inc has hired two senior engineers with experience at Qualcomm Inc and Apple Inc, its latest high-level recruitments as it diversifies beyond a slowing personal computer industry, sources close to the chipmaker said.

Charles Matar, with expertise in low-power and embedded chip design, joined as AMD’s vice president of System-on-Chip Development, two sources said. Matar most recently worked at Qualcomm.

Wayne Meretsky, who worked at Apple in the 1990s on the Mac, was named vice president, software IP development, they said. Meretsky will lead software developments for AMD’s chips.

AMD spokesman Drew Prairie also confirmed that AMD hired the two engineers to help the chipmaker expand into new markets, but he did not provide details.

AMD depends on the PC industry for about 80 percent of its revenue. With sales in that business falling due to a growing preference for smartphones and tablets, the company is rushing to expand into new markets for its chip processors and graphics technology.

One of Silicon Valley’s oldest chipmakers, AMD has experienced major changes in its lineup of executives and senior engineers since Chief Executive Rory Read moved over from PC maker Lenovo in 2011 promising to make the struggling chipmaker more efficient.

In October, AMD announced it was laying off 15 percent of its workforce, its second round of job cuts in less than a year.

Matar and Meretsky both worked at AMD earlier in their careers. Their return follows chip guru Jim Keller, who joined AMD as chief architect in August last year.

Keller was previously a director at Apple in charge of designing mobile processors used in the iPad and iPhone.

Sunnyvale, California-based AMD hopes to increase sales in markets such as communications, microservers, digital signs and stripped down “thin client” computers. It wants those non-PC markets to account for as much as 50 percent of its revenue within three or four years.

Matar will focus on designing SoCs, or “system on a chips,” which integrate several features found on a computer into a single piece of silicon. The technology is widely used in smartphones, tablets and embedded devices.

The chipmaker plans to ship a new low power processor, codenamed Temash, for tablets and hybrid laptops running Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform in the first half of this year.

Its Kabini laptop processor, also planned for early 2013, will have 50 percent better performance than its predecessor, according to AMD.

source: interaksyon.com

AMD Announces Big Job Reduction

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Computer chipmaker AMD announced plans Thursday to slash 15 percent of its workforce in a cost-cutting move in response to a weak market for personal computers.

The California firm also known as Advanced Micro Devices, the number two PC chipmaker behind Intel, said it lost $150 million in the past quarter and that revenues slumped 25 percent year-over-year to $1.27 billion.

AMD and others have been hit hard by weak sales of PCs as consumers shift to tablets and other mobile devices, a trend moving faster than the industry had anticipated.

‘‘The PC industry is going through a period of very significant change that is impacting both the ecosystem and AMD,’’ said Rory Read, AMD president and chief executive.

‘‘It is clear that the trends we knew would re-shape the industry are happening at a much faster pace than we anticipated. As a result, we must accelerate our strategic initiatives to position AMD to take advantage of these shifts and put in place a lower cost business model.’’

The move comes a year after another job-cutting plan in which AMD announced it would trim 10 percent of its workers or 1,400 jobs.

AMD said the new reorganization would start in the fourth quarter and will result in operational savings of some $20 million in the quarter and $190 million in 2013.

‘‘Our restructuring efforts are decisive actions that position AMD to compete more effectively and improve our financial results,’’ Read said.

article source: mb.com.ph