Intel has recently announced that it is setting up a new fund that will help startups in developing new technologies from its Intel Foundry Services (IFS). This billion dollar fund is being offered to both large and small firms that are working on innovative chip tech that will not be limited by ISAs (instruction set architectures).
As per the official announcement (Via TomsHardware), the funds will help startups that are seeking to develop disruptive tech (technology that has a major impact on the market/industry) while also reducing the time it takes for these technologies to make it to the consumer market. Notably, the chip making giant won’t be limiting architecture for firms using its IFS. While Team Blue has been a major figure in the x86 architecture, the 1 billion US Dollar fund will embrace other instruction sets as well. This includes the x86, ARM, and even RISC-V.
The first two are known architectures that are used in PCs and smartphones, but the latter is an open sourced and free platform that has been rising in popularity in recent times. In other words, Intel will include RISC-V under its IFS fund to bring in more customers. Furthermore, the chipmaker is also betting on development of modular designs on chip architecture through advanced 3D packaging technologies. In simpler terms, it is expecting the semiconductor industry to shift towards chips that use multiple ISA in a single chip.
Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger, stated that “Foundry customers are rapidly embracing a modular design approach to differentiate their products and accelerate time to market. Intel Foundry Services is well positioned to lead this major industry inflection. With our new investment fund and open chiplet platform, we can help drive the ecosystem to develop disruptive technologies across the full spectrum of chip architectures.” The sizeable fund will be streamlined in three aspects:
- Equity investments in disruptive startups.
- Strategic investments to accelerate partner scale up.
- Ecosystem investments to develop disruptive capabilities supporting IFS customers.
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