Andre Yoskowitz
1 Jul 2015 0:45
According to a new report, Microsoft is looking into acquiring struggling chip maker AMD, a move that would help the software giant to revive its own chip operations and save on costs.
Microsoft had its own chip design division nearly a decade ago, but has since moved on to AMD and Nvidia for its consoles and other hardware. Microsoft uses a specialized AMD SoC for its Xbox One.
AMD was once valued at over $20 billion, but now has a market value of just $1.8 billion, a figure that would be nothing to Microsoft who has a value of $350 billion including over $90 billion in cash.
For its Xbox One console, Microsoft pays an estimated $100 to AMD for use the SoC, and at nearly 13 million units sold to date, AMD appears to only be alive thanks to its Xbox One partnership. If Microsoft were to acquire and integrate AMD, it could save money on its consoles and potentially in the future save on smartphones and tablet if they can get AMD chips on par with Qualcomm and Intel in the mobile realm.
Source:
KitGuru