It sounds like ARM licensees who use ARM’s off-the-shelf technology will be able to use Intel’s fabs to create chips but that licensees like Qualcomm who use a lot of their own custom CPUs and GPUs won’t be able to. Perhaps Intel could call these new chips “XScale”.
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“ARM and Intel Custom Foundry have announced an agreement to accelerate the development and implementation of ARM SoCs on Intel’s 10nm process”, says ARM’s Will Abbey, “ARM is a leader in processor and physical design, and Intel Custom Foundry is a leading integrated device manufacturer”.
The Santa Clara, CA-based digital technology company is looking to win more customers for its unit which manufactures chips for other companies.
The deal is another reminder that Intel missed the boat on mobile.
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Intel, using ARM technology, will be able to offer companies its most advances 10-nanometer production lines to manufacture chips that are typically used in smartphones. Now, with PC sales declining, Intel is eager to make use of its foundry infrastructure to bring in new customers, even if it means developing chips it once hoped to design itself. So it makes sense the iPhone maker would be interested in reducing its manufacturing dependency on its central smartphone competitor. Intel has partnered with ANSYS, Cadence, Mentor Graphics and Synopsys previously and is making chips for LG Electronics and Netronome to name a few.
