Intel foundries to produce ARM-based smartphone chips

PanARMENIAN.Net - Intel on Tuesday, August 16 announced it has reached an agreement with rival ARM Holdings to produce 10-nanometer ARM chip designs at its advanced fabrication facilities, a strategy targeting smartphone chipmakers, AppleInsider reports.

Under the agreement, Intel Custom Foundry will be able use its upcoming 10nm FinFET platform to fabricate chip designs based on ARM's Artisan Physical IP, the companies said in joint press releases. Intel officially announced the collaboration at today's Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

For chipmakers like Qualcomm, and potentially Apple, the Intel-ARM partnership opens the door to new foundry options beyond industry stalwarts Samsung and, more recently, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. As noted by Ars Technica, ARM's IP license appears to be somewhat narrow, meaning complex custom designs might not be eligible for Intel's fab.

"The initial POP IP will be for two future advanced ARM Cortex-A processor cores designed for mobile computing applications in either ARM big.LITTLE or stand-alone configurations," ARM said.

South Korea's LG will be one of the first customers to use Intel's new service. The consumer electronics giant plans to produce a "world-class mobile platform" of its own design based on ARM IP, likely destined for release in a smartphone. LG traditionally turns to Qualcomm or smaller manufacturers for its chip needs.

Apple is unlikely to make the switch to Intel's process anytime soon, however, as standing contracts preclude meaningful diversification. For example, TSMC is said to be taping out the design for a next-generation 10nm "A11" processor expected to go into production in 2017.