What happens to the x86 license?

wow that charlie really loves to say "i told you so"

Big Money to Rescue? Timmy Goes Dickens? Shanghai'd? This sounds like defining of Duties to elaborate Greater effiecentcies. Not Two Seperate Corporate Entities or it is split, as Permissions was mentioned, How About Administrative Rights to Split Notchie in Half? Instead what if AMD Reverse Stock Split, Now its so Cheap? for every 5 shares out there, give blokes One Share Back @ $20, with Shangie Doing Soon Pushup., Instant Profit, thats what Guests Get. drashek

Seems like AMD's trying to cheat death one more time, and Intel will hopefully wise enough to net let them succeed.

Surely IBM fits in to your two tiered scheme somehow?

Just goes to show that is the Inquirer posted it, it's true.

you also told me google is gonna buy valve... still waiting for that to happen though. hehe.

There are several companies in the last 10 years had gone from end-to-end business, to spinning off the manufacturing to make it more competitive. Acer spin off the manufacturing (Winstron) to concentrate on brand marketing, D-Link spin off its manufacturing (Alpha Networks), Asus also spin off its manufacturing (Unihan). Dell is also looking for a buyer for its manufacturing business. Once you remove the large overhead of manufacturing, competing head on will be easier, unless the management makes an unrepairable mistake.

You could look at this another way. As a design firm, or foundry, AMD would be open to designing or manufactoring as an independant company/s. So if AMD's processors are floundering they can bring in source work. Alternately they can provide outside design services. It would also allow those portions of the company to focus both resources and technologies on their specific expertise, and negate some standing time as one portion of the company waits for other to catch up. Of course it may be just a way to justify that type of work to share holders. I await the thoughts of those involved.

I think it is good that AMD may split into a foundary company and a design house. the foundary part will make it easier for fabless companies to get to market...VIA Isiah anyone?

AMD keeps a 44% stake in the new foundry company and a 50.1% decision making stake affectively meaning its still a AMD company. and intel does NOT want AMD to go under. it would have every anti-trust watchdog in the world springing on its nek minutes after that would happen and thats the last thing any company wants. and in 2011 when the x86 license is up for renegotiation, and AMD has a strong negotiating position because of the anti-trust lawsuits already running against intel. that part of the agreement will likely be scrapt entirely.