ATI signs Pentium-M bus license with Intel

ATI signs Pentium-M bus license with Intel
By Peter Clarke, Semiconductor Business News
March 18, 2003 (7:59 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030318S0017

MARKHAM, Ontario --- Graphics chip vendor ATI Technologies Inc. said today (March 18, 2003) that it has reached agreement with Intel Corp. on the terms for a Pentium-M processor bus license. This license gives ATI the necessary rights to build peripheral logic chipsets for personal computers based on Pentium-M processors, the company said.

Financial and other terms of the license were not disclosed.

The Pentium-M is the processor at the heart of Intel's recent Centrino launch. Centrino is a collection of chips, software and other technology suitable for the design of a wireless LAN connected low power consumption computer terminal (see March 12 story).

ATI is believed to be the first company to obtain the right to make use of the Pentium-M bus which is effectively essential to produce correctly working complementary chipsets. However, one thing that is key , and was also not disclosed is how quickly ATI can get out a chipset as alternative to the 855 chipset which Intel can already supply.

Intel is expected to have made sure that it has a lead in the market place for chipsets so that it can take high margin and recoup some of its development costs, before licensing others to come and compete (see March 12 story).