AMD to increase APU production by using IBM foundries

AMD has always been known for struggling to create enough supply to meet demand for its products but it looks like things could be changing. According to some sources AMD announced at its 2012 Financial Analyst day that it has already begun mass production of Trinity APU chips at the IBM foundries. This means in addition to the AMD-founded company Global Foundries and the independent TSMC, AMD will now have the production capacity of IBM available to it as well. Currently Global Foundries produces all AMD’s desktop processors and FM1 APUs, while TSMC produces chipsets and BGA (mobile) APUs. Now with IBM taking on the task of producing Trinity APUs AMD should have more than enough capacity to keep on top of demand and drive prices down.

What makes AMD’s partnership with IBM for manufacturing a significant development is the fact that IBM can handle high-volume production, and has a proven track-record with semiconductor manufacturing process R&D, it also holds a wide range of silicon fabrication IP, rivaled only by Intel. Chips manufactured at IBM will only add to the volumes created by Global Foundries, Big Blue won’t completely replace it as AMD’s foundry partner. The ability to ship in greater volumes plays a significant role in scoring design wins, apart from pure performance of the product. For example, Lenovo would want to be absolutely sure you can ship in large quantities before designing a major product around your chip.

Source: Xbit Labs, TPU