It Is Now Official: AMD to Export Technology to Zelenograd

The transaction between AMD and the Russian company Angstrem has reached the final stage. AMD has signed an agreement to supply the Zelenograd company with the necessary technology and equipment for 0.13-micron chip production.

Pierre Brunswick, AMD Sales and Marketing Vice President in Russia confirmed that the EU and US authorities had to approve the equipment export to Russia, before concluding the transaction. As of now, AMD has been issued the licenses to export both technology and equipment to the Russian Federation.

In the following months, AMD will be moving their technological capabilities and logistics from the Dresden manufacturing unit (also known as Fab 30) to Angstrem's headquarters in Zelenograd. According to Brunswick, the Russian company has not only acquired the hardware equipment for 130-micron chip manufacturing, but has also purchased licenses for the CMOS technology as well as the transfer and sales of any intellectual property related to microprocessor design.

Angstrem is currently in a weak position and is forced to buy logistics from AMD to counterpart Micron's expansion in the public sector. Micron, a subsidiary of Sitronics, bought in 2006 the 0.18 micron chip technology from the French company STMicroelectronics. After spending about $200 million, Micron will start producing chips from December 2007.

Experts believe that the future of both Micron and Angstrem is doomed on the Russian market. "There are not enough orders in the Russian domestic market of e-components even for one factory. That is why Angstrem will have to look for cooperation with world customers", explained Ivan Pokrovsky, General Manager of PH Electronics.

Russia's main consumers of electronic components are the industrial electronics and communications manufacturers, as well as military technology and security systems sector. PH Electronics forecasts, for this year, a market volume of $2 billion in electronic components and semiconductors, which would represent a 30 percent growth compared to 2006.