On October 16, 2024, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced that they are forming a “consultation group” to ensure software runs on their chips to jointly address the increasing challenge posed by Arm Holdings.
According to Reuters, Intel invented the x86 computing architecture, which has powered global laptops, personal computers, and data center servers for 40 years. AMD, which has obtained technology licensing from Intel, also produces chips using x86 technology, and under a long-term legal agreement, the two companies compete with each other.
However, the market share of these two companies has been eroded by Arm. Arm licenses chip designs to laptop manufacturers such as Apple and Qualcomm, as well as companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google’s parent company Alphabet, who utilize its competitive architecture in data centers.
Arm’s success partly stems from its contracts stipulating that all Arm chips must be able to run all Arm software, regardless of the chip manufacturer. In contrast, Intel and AMD, using the same underlying x86 technology in their chips, sometimes need to adjust software to make it work on their chips.
On Tuesday, both companies announced that they are forming a “consultation group” to change this situation, where founding members including Broadcom, Dell Technologies, Lenovo Group, and Oracle will join.
According to the organization’s announcement, it will bring together hardware and software companies to provide technical input on the “fundamental functions and features” of Intel and AMD chips to ensure they are “consistent and compatible” across various applications.
Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger stated that x86 technology can easily adapt to new use cases such as laptops with artificial intelligence. He said, “We see the x86 architecture, the foundation of computing for decades, going through a phase of customization, expansion, and scalability with opportunities brought by artificial intelligence, making our ecosystem stronger and ever-evolving.”
AMD’s CEO Lisa Su said in a statement, “We are excited to bring the entire industry together to provide direction for enhancing architectures for the future and continuing the tremendous success of x86 in the coming decades.”