Brian, OK, first please excuse my having a little fun with this news story. I'm not really trying to pick on Rise. I'm picking on this style of news report because I've seen it so often that I'm wondering if it isn't a form story where only the names and product speeds are updated. Next will come the inevitable story headlined "Start-up David Challenges Chip Goliath's Future". Please read for amusement only.
If we play with the story a bit we could get:
Yet Another Start-up releases low-cost chip plans
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 27, 1999, 11:30 a.m. PT
Hoping to capitalize on recent turmoil in the PC processor market, Rise Technology officially released its roadmap for chips in the sub-$600 PC market and confirmed it will release a chip compatible with Intel's Celeron thereby giving it a shot at getting even a few percent market share of a really big market and justifying itself as a good investment to the next round of financiers they hope to impress before all their existing money runs out.
As previously reported, Rise Technology will bring out faster chips and one compatible, but maybe not equivalent, with Intel's Celeron processor.
Rise is one of a shrinking handful of companies striving to make a mark in the potentially lucrative, yet highly precarious market for low-cost PC processors. Millions of PC processors get shipped quarterly, a number that is increasing as prices continue to drop and as these chips find their way into intelligent set-top boxes. Unfortunately, nearly everyone, nearly being the key word here, is losing money fulfilling demand because of relentless price cuts.
Currently, Rise sells processors that can equal the performance of 233-MHz and 266-MHz processors from Intel or AMD, according to the company.
Although this puts Rise at the lagging edge as far as performance is concerned, the company will pick up the pace when it releases in volume chips running at the equivalent of 333-MHz and 366-MHz in the third quarter and 380-MHx, 400-MHz and 433-MHz in the fourth quarter and the powerpoint foils assure them that hitting these milestones will be no problem.
Towards the end of the year, the company will also begin to produce samples of chips that can fit into the same "Socket 370" PC circuit boards designed for Celeron processors, a first for an Intel competitor, as well as come out with chips including 256KB of performance-enhancing cache memory and whatever else the VCs want, so long as those checks keep coming.
Manufacturing chips, however, is only part of the battle in PC processors. Plummeting prices have stripped manufacturers of nearly all of the current potential profits in this segment. AMD earlier this year reported significant financial losses while National Semiconductor said it was selling its Cyrix processor division because of competitive difficulties. Meanwhile, Rise's closest competitor, IDT recently admitted it was seeking outside funding.
Rise's difficulties can be seen in the small barrier between its cost and its retail prices. The Rise mP6 processor costs around $45 to make, according to a study from MicroDesign Resources. U.S. retailers sell it for between $30 and $60, when they sell it at all. So far, Rise has sold most of its processors into more cost-conscious overseas markets.
Rise, however, remains optimistic. CEO David Lin recently said that demand was climbing, especially with the exit of Cyrix.
"We are going through major financing for our product ramp," he said in a recent interview. adding: "We are recruiting people like crazy. or was it: we are recruiting crazy people?"
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