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Gadgets AMD Hires New Engineers with Apple, QUALCOMM Experience
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - January 22, 2013 8:12 AM

12 comment(s) - last by Totally.. on Jan 27 at 12:37 AM

AMD readies a push into the mobile market with new engineers

AMD has hired a pair of new senior engineers that have experience gained from working with Apple and QUALCOMM. Reuters reports that the hires are a sign that AMD is diversifying beyond the computer industry and into the hot mobile sector.

The new engineers are Charles Matar and Wayne Meretsky. Matar brings expertise in low power and embedded chip design to AMD. Matar joins AMD as vice president of system-on-chip development. Meretsky worked at Apple on the A-Series processors used in the company's iPad and iPhone. He was named vice president of software IP development according to the sources and lead software development for AMD processors.

Interestingly, both Matar and Meretsky worked at AMD early in their careers.

AMD spokesman Drew Prairie confirmed that AMD had hired the engineers to help the company expand into new markets. Currently AMD depends primarily on the computer industry, but with the computer industry in decline, smartphones, and tablets on the rise AMD is certainly looking to expand into markets with more growth potential.

AMD currently gets about 80% of its revenue from the PC industry. However, the company has a goal of expanding its reach in markets such as communications, micro servers, digital signs, and thin client computers. The company wants to earn 50% of its revenue from those categories within 3 to 4 years.

AMD announced in October of 2012 that it would be laying off 15% of its global workforce. That round of layoffs was the second significant round of job cuts within a year.

Source: Reuters

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Good for AMD

By menting on 1/22/2013 10:23:59 AM , Rating: 2

Good for them. I hope they come back in full force. The market is always better when there is more competition.

RE: Good for AMD

By Jeffk464 on 1/22/2013 11:09:04 AM , Rating: 4

It always sounds more promising when a company is hiring engineers rather than laying them off. Things haven't been sounding very good for AMD recently maybe this is a good sign.

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RE: Good for AMD

By GulWestfale on 1/22/2013 12:20:22 PM , Rating: 4

thousands of layoffs, but two new employees is a good sign? lol

i think these might not only be hired for mobile designs, but also to work on the next-gen console chips, which can not have AMD's typical 125W TDP.

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RE: Good for AMD

By Amoro on 1/22/2013 1:15:35 PM , Rating: 2

Not sure what you mean by "typical" 125W. Half of their new FX CPU's are 125W, sure. But their APU's max out at 100W which is what I predict will be used in the new consoles. However, if they use the mobile versions of these chips they will top out at 35W for current gen and 45 for last gen.

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RE: Good for AMD

By Cloudie on 1/22/2013 1:44:51 PM , Rating: 2

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/df-hardware-orbi...

The next gen consoles are using 8 Jaguar cores (successor to Brazos) and a GCN Pitcairn GPU. Not using Trinity or its successor.

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RE: Good for AMD

By Cheesew1z69 on 1/22/2013 1:49:06 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
The next gen consoles are rumored to be using 8 Jaguar cores (successor to Brazos) and a GCN Pitcairn GPU. Not using Trinity or its successor.

FTFY

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RE: Good for AMD

By mi1400 on 1/23/2013 11:50:11 AM , Rating: 2

I am die hard AMD fan ,... but since 5-7 years its becoming more convincing that AMD is kinda of politically supressed by organizations i.e. U.S and other half.

1. AMD is not disclosing points of its slavery pact with Intel.
2. AMD's "Megahertzgovinia" type stunts
3. AMD's "petitions" inciting people for a duel aginst intel

If Intel can dig in SSDs making why cant AMD jump into same too or gear up existing RAM biz or jump into super fine Camera Sensors. AMD can release Laptops with removeable CPU enthusiast series no matter without warranty and with warnings...
summary is AMD is walking behind Intel head bowed like a slave... If Intel launches some UltraBook .. amd starts making a what slave should make versions of ultrabook... there is something darn fishy going on in AMD ,...

Also AMD does not require EX Apple, Qualcomm guys they need to just...
1. get out of slavery mindset
2. remove gap between release of desktop deneration and its mobile gen then mobile FireGLs

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“And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it’s superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say?” -- Bill Gates on the Mac ads