As AMD unveiled the roadmap for its upcoming AI accelerators at Advancing AI 2024, including MI325X and MI355X, its longtime foundry partner TSMC is expected to be the major beneficiary, according to the reports by the Commercial Times and the Economic Daily News.

TSMC, as AMD’s key chip making partner, is expected to benefit the most, as the foundry giant also provides advanced packaging services such chiplets and CoWoS, Commercial Times notes.

Other Taiwanese companies in the supply chain are also expected to benefit, including ASMedia, which provides PCIe Gen5 high-speed interface chips, as well as ASIC firms GUC and Alchip, according to the report. Among server OEM partners, Compal, Wistron, Wiwynn, and Inventec are listed as AMD’s collaborators.

According to the Economic Daily News, AMD’s Instinct MI325X AI accelerator is said to be manufactured with TSMC’s 4nm and 5nm, with mass production anticipated to begin this quarter. It is worth noting that the AI GPU would be the first of its kind to be equipped with 256GB HBM3e memory, according to another report by Wccftech.

On the other hand, to compete with AI chip giant NVIDIA’s GB200, AMD also introduced the MI350 series at the event. According to Commercial Times, MI355X will be launched in the second half of 2025, leveraging TSMC’s 3nm process while equipped with 288GB HBM3e memory.

The report by Commercial Times further notes that in addition to its larger memory capacity, the MI355X accelerator also incorporates the CDNA 4 architecture, allowing it to achieve a significant 35x increase in FP8 computational performance.

Featuring TSMC’s 3nm node just like NVIDIA’s Rubin reportedly does, AMD’s MI355X has the potential to catch up with, or even run ahead of its archrival in terms of product schedule, the report suggests. NVIDIA’s Rubin is reportedly to be released in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Notably, AMD’s MI300X accelerator has been reportedly adopted by a few tech heavyweights. According to Commercial Times, following Microsoft’s adoption, Samsung has also purchased USD 20 million worth of AMD MI300X units for AI training.

At Advancing AI 2024, which took place on October 10^th, AMD also introduced its latest EPYC server processors, EPYC 9005 Series, previously codenamed Turin. According to its press release, the EPYC 9005 Series is built on the latest “Zen 5” architecture, which offers up to 192 cores and will be available in a wide range of platforms from leading OEMs and ODMs. According to the Economic Daily News, EPYC 9005 Series is manufactured with TSMC’s 3nm and 4nm nodes.

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(Photo credit: AMD)

Intel’s first processor using rival TSMC’s technology, the Lunar Lake, has officially launched, intensifying the competition with AMD. According to a recent report by TechNews, third-party testing has confirmed Intel’s claims: Lunar Lake is indeed the most energy-efficient x86 processor to date, outperforming Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X and even rivaling Apple’s M3, reminiscent of Apple’s groundbreaking M1 launch.

TechNews attributes this success not only to Intel’s redesign of power supply, frequency regulation, and packaging but also to the advanced TSMC N3B process.

Recently, Intel announced that in order to reduce costs and better prepare for its in-house 18A process, it has decided to abandon the introduction of the 20A process. As a result, the Arrow Lake chip launching this month will also use TSMC’s process. TechNews raised the question in their article: “With Intel’s new platforms expected to rely on TSMC’s process at least until 2026, will AMD face significant challenges?”

Can AMD’s Zen 5 architecture turn the tide?

TechNews noted that AMD’s current advantage over Intel rests heavily on using TSMC’s process. However, AMD is not alone in benefiting from TSMC’s power efficiency. Across the board, chips produced with TSMC technology have demonstrated superior energy efficiency, delivering high performance without consuming excessive power. But, with the efficiency gains from advanced nodes like M4 or A18 nearing their limits, chipmakers will need to adopt more aggressive power and frequency strategies to push performance further.

Lunar Lake’s impressive energy efficiency highlights both TSMC’s process advantage and Intel’s enduring design prowess. This should serve as a warning for AMD, which plans a major push into the laptop market in 2025. With the launch of Strix Point and Hawk Point this year, AMD aims to release five new platforms next year, targeting the mid-to-high-end laptop market. However, reviews of Strix Point already show that, while performance has improved, energy efficiency remains stagnant—a problem that could persist with future Zen 5-based products.

This opens a window of opportunity for Arrow Lake, which is now powered by TSMC’s process. If Arrow Lake can offer higher peak performance than Raptor Lake Refresh or Meteor Lake while maintaining strong energy efficiency—and with better OEM partnerships—AMD’s hard-earned foothold in the mid-to-high-end market may once again be overshadowed by Intel.

Facing competition shifts due to process changes is nothing new for AMD. As mentioned in the TechNews report, when NVIDIA launched the RTX 30 series on Samsung’s 8LPU (8nm) process, early issues with leakage and high power consumption gave AMD’s RX 6000 series GPUs, known for their superior performance and energy efficiency, a competitive edge. The high-end 6800 and 6900 models were even able to compete with NVIDIA’s RTX 3080. However, once NVIDIA returned to TSMC for the RTX 40 series, AMD struggled to keep up and eventually abandoned its high-end GPU plans, shifting focus to niche markets.

TechNews concludes that while next year may see the lowest degree of processor process diversity—since almost everyone is using TSMC—it will also be a critical year to evaluate the true design strengths of each semiconductor company. With AMD’s Zen 5 already on the table, all eyes are now on Intel’s Arrow Lake to see what surprises it brings to the market with TSMC’s technology.

(Photo credit: AMD)

Rumors are going around the market about Intel’s next move, as names of big techs, such as Qualcomm, have been brought up as potential buyers. On the other hand, U.S.-based asset management firm Apollo is also said to be showing interest in making an equity-like investment worth up to USD 5 billion in Intel.

However, are the rumors making sense? What would be the wisest decision for Intel to make? Here’s a roundup of the semiconductor giant’s core businesses, and a quick analysis of its next steps.

Intel Might Be Working on Restructuring and Adjustments Months ago

Before Intel’s formal announcement of delaying its German project for two years, the company has actually been carrying out plans for restructuring discreetly and adjusting its strategy in the meantime, which can date back to months ago.

This could be further echoed with Intel’s decision in June to sell a 49% equity interest related to the Fab 34 in Ireland to Apollo. Then, in July, after reporting a loss of USD 7 billion in its manufacturing business for 2023, Intel stated that its investment in France and Italy could not be realized for the time being, and suspended relevant investment plans for chip plants and R&D centers.

Five Core Businesses to Watch: x86 Unlikely to be Sold

Still, the struggling giant has five core businesses, which consists of the following segments: x86 CPUs for the consumer and data center markets, the networking business, Intel Foundry Services (IFS), FPGA unit Altera and Mobileye for automotive driver-assist systems.

Among these, x86 CPU remains the most profitable segment, which is also Intel’s core strength. As the revenue contribution, gross margin, and operating margin of the product line stay healthy, Intel is unlikely to sell the segment in the current scenario.

On the other hand, though Intel has denied the plan to divest a majority stake in Mobileye last week, the self-driving company, which listed on Nasdaq in 2022, would be one of the easiest target for Intel to handle. Industry insiders believe that companies like Japanese semiconductor firm Renesas, U.S. chip giant Qualcomm, Taiwan-based MediaTek, or those aiming to enter the automotive electronics sector could be potential buyers.

As for Altera’s FPGA unit, which also previously denied rumors of being for sale, industry experts suggest that AMD could still be a potential buyer. Acquiring Altera would allow the U.S. chip giant to expand its FPGA product lineup, effectively integrating it with its existing portfolio.

In addition, the networking division could also be sold as a standalone entity, which might be easier for Intel to execute.

What is Qualcomm Eyeing for?                       

The latest reports by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg indicate that Qualcomm has reached out to Intel regarding a potential acquisition offer, which would rank as one of the largest-ever technology mergers if the deal were to take place.

However, if Qualcomm were to pursue the x86 business or the entire Intel, it would be a significant financial burden for the U.S. chip maker. Moreover, as a chip design company, Qualcomm would lack the expertise to manage the IFS foundry, while the sector still suffered from significant losses.

Additionally, the deal would require scrutiny from antitrust authorities in various countries, which could be particularly challenging in China.

Therefore, a more feasible option for Qualcomm would be to acquire Mobileye, as the company is already involved in automotive ADAS and infotainment ICs. Acquiring the networking division would be another reasonable choice.

What would be the next page for Intel? To sum up, the 56-year-old semiconductor giant still has solid products, such as the x86 CPUs. Its main issue lies in the slightly deviated strategic direction and execution over the past few years, particularly as it positions itself to compete with TSMC in the most advanced nodes. By addressing these missteps and making proper arrangements afterwards, the company still holds significant value.

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(Photo credit: Intel)

One of the most critical moves of Intel’s next step, regarded by CEO Pat Gelsinger as “the most significant transformation in over four decades,” is turning its foundry business into an independent subsidiary. Citing remarks from foreign media and analysts, a report by Taiwanese media outlet Anue notes that this is a much-needed temporary measure aimed at gaining the trust of potential customers, who may hesitate to entrust their chip designs to a competitor’s foundry division.

Following last week’s board meeting, Intel announced on September 16^th that the company will transform its foundry business into a wholly-owned subsidiary with its own board of directors.

It is worth noting that in the meantime, Intel signed a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year agreement with Amazon to produce certain chips for Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) AI data centers.

The Two tech giants will co-develop AWS’ next-gen AI fabric chips on Intel 18A, which signals a good start for Intel. Additionally, Intel is developing customized Xeon 6 server chips for AWS.

Regarding Intel’s plan on carving out its foundry business, citing comments from foreign analysts, the report by Anue states that the move could help Intel in having a better chance of attracting tech heavyweights, such as Apple, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and even AMD.

Here is why: if the new company appears as an independent entity and if it has the right board members, the foundry business could progress more smoothly, the report suggests. This move should help alleviate concerns from potential customers, but its effectiveness will yet be proven through execution.

The report added that if Intel’s collaboration with Amazon goes well, it could potentially manufacture other Amazon chips in the future, such as AWS Graviton processors and Trainium AI training chips used for machine learning.

Intel has failed to attract a significant number of clients for its foundry business, with Microsoft being its largest customer to date, the report notes.

Two years ago, the struggling giant lost the contract to design and manufacture chips for Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 6, dealing a major blow to its efforts to establish its nascent foundry business.

In its own words, the move in terms of the new subsidiary structure will provide greater separation and independence for Intel’s external foundry customers and suppliers from Intel’s other divisions. Importantly, it also gives the company the flexibility to evaluate independent funding sources in the future and optimize the capital structure of each business to maximize growth and create shareholder value.

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(Photo credit: Intel)

Ahead of AMD’s October launch of Instinct MI325X, the U.S. chip giant is said to have several issues with its laptop OEMs, which results in poor execution, a report by Tom’s Hardware notes. Citing remarks from analysts, the report describes the two parties’ relation now as a “Cold War ice age,” hurting their mutual trust.

The report, citing AC Analysis, says that the main contradiction arises from AMD’s current strategy of prioritizing enterprise chips over consumer products, with laptop OEMs complaining about the “miscommunication, unfulfilled promises, and generally poor treatment.” The situation, according to them, is similar to Intel’s behavior during its peak years.

It is interesting to note that the situation seems to coincide with AMD CEO Lisa Su’s recent exclamation that AMD is a “data center-first company,” as data center contributed to over 50% of the company’s revenue last quarter.

Another report by German media outlet ComputerBase also reports that AMD is still suffering from the same challenges it has had in the past. For instance, problems with supply and related issues have delayed the release of new Strix Point laptops. According to ComputerBase, one source even accused AMD of probably leaving billions of US dollars on the table with its partners over the years.

Tom’s Hardware observes that due to the aforementioned reasons, the reaction of AMD’s Strix Point chips among OEMs has been somewhat tepid, despite consumer interest.

The report notes that currently, BestBuy offers only three brands with AMD’s latest chips—Asus, HP, and MSI. HP and MSI each have one model, while Asus has 13 models featuring the AMD Ryzen AI 300 series chip.

This is in sharp contrast with Qualcomm, the report notes. Even the company is a latecomer in the laptop market, the smartphone chip giant’s launch of the Snapdragon X processor generated significant excitement among both the public and laptop manufacturers, as seven brands have already released 12 different models featuring the new Arm chip.

AMD is also lagging behind its rival Intel, which still dominates the laptop market despite its recent slump. According to Intel, its Lunar Lake, manufactured with TSMC’s 3nm, is expected to power more than 80 new laptop designs across more than 20 original equipment manufacturers, delivering AI performance at a global scale for Copilot+ PCs.

Read more

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(Photo credit: AMD)