14 DAY TRIAL // AMD has begun to munch over strange ideas lately. First, the AMD guys considered that it would be at least nice to grab Ageia and their PhisX engine for their own graphics technology, but things have gone in a nasty direction, so they postponed it.
Threatened by the idea of being kicked out of the world's top 10 chip manufacturers, AMD are now thinking that a new Indian plant to spit chips would suit them perfectly. This would be an important achievement for the chip CPU and GPU manufacturer and at the same time, it would take them one step ahead of Intel's competition.
AMD has already invested in a chip fab back in India, as well as other major semiconductor manufacturers, namely Intel and Texas Instruments. However, the country lacks a full-featured chip plant, and Intel jumped with the idea that they will ultimately build it. Advanced Micro Devices CEO came to India (Bangalore) on Thursday to inaugurate the new 52,000-foot research and development facility, to house more than 350 engineers and researchers. The agile development in the semiconductor business has led to an increased number of employees and the old facility quickly became inoperable.
During the event, Ruiz stated that "it is critical to have manufacturing operations in close proximity to research and development. Thus, a fab in India is under consideration". AMD is manufacturing chips in India as a result of their partnership with SemIndia, a group of investors aiming at building a wafer fab, as well as assembly and test operation centers.
AMD promised back in 2005 that they would send logistics and equipment to SemIndia, but the project has been put on hold, since the Indian government did not react as expected to the proposal and failed to announce its semiconductor policy as well as the package of incentives for the chip manufacturing sector. Finally, the government announced them this year.
The chip manufacturer holds a design facility in Hyderabad, that AMD "inherited" when they took over ATI's business. Ruiz confirmed that AMD will increase the number of their design engineers in India.