Pragmatism wins as rivals start to cooperate on memory chips
Article Abstract:
Semiconductor firms forge international alliances to develop microprocessor technology. IBM joins forces with Toshiba Corp and Siemens AG to develop advanced memory chips that will not hit the market until the turn of the century. Advanced Micro Devices Inc has reached a cooperative agreement with Fujitsu Corp to exchange stock and develop new microprocessors. Additionally, Intel Corp has negotiated an agreement with Sharp Corp. The high costs of product development has forced rival companies to cooperate to maximize their profits. This trend towards international cooperation stands in contrast to the effort led by IBM to advocate an independent US semiconductor industry, a movement that ended in 1990 less than a year after it started. Industry analysts speculate that American companies, with strong design and research efforts, compliment Japanese companies, which typically have superior manufacturing capabilities.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1992
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PC makers join group to back a rival chip
Article Abstract:
Seven companies announce plans to back the PowerPC, a rival to Intel Corp's microprocessors in a new generation of microcomputers. Motorola Inc, IBM and Apple, which are co-developing the chip, are joined in the PowerOpen Association Inc by co-founders Thomson-CSF of France and Harris Corp. Former DEC VP Domenic LaCava is named president of the association, whose chief aim is to get software developers to write programs for the PowerPC. When it debuts in late 1993, the PowerPC will compete head-on with Intel's new Pentium processor. The association will charge developers a fee for technical support. The association will help assure developers that software written for one vendor's PowerPC computers will work on a rival's computers.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1993
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Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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