Reference to STM in IBM news release....
zdnet.com
>>As it ramps up foundry work, the division [IMD] is de-emphasizing its memory chips to less than 20 percent of its business, Torino said.
The chip division still develops and sells ASICs to IBM's systems groups. It also manufacturers the PowerPC processors used in RS/6000 and AS/400 systems.
IBM Microelectronics doesn't own an X86 core but had access to Cyrix's 6X86 technology through its foundry agreement with the Richardson, Texas, company. IBM also sold its own branded version of that processor.
Cyrix/NSI move on
But last month Cyrix, now owned by National Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE:NSM), dissolved the foundry deal with IBM and said it was taking its core technology with it.
IBM, eager to compete in the low-cost Windows PC market, will have an x86 offering in 1999, predicted Linley Gwennap, editorial director of the Microprocessor Report, in Sebastopol, Calif.
To do that, IBM plans to license an X86 core from ST Microelectronics Corp., sources said.
"They have advantages over more established X86 chip companies, like their broad patent cross-license agreement with Intel [Corp.] and their own advanced fab, and they are one of the leaders in process technology," Gwennap said.
Interestingly, its cross-licensing patents with Intel are part of what makes IBM such an attractive foundry partner. This lets Intel competitors, both CISC and RISC, use Intel's proprietary designs without infringing on its patents.<<
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