IBM and Motorola Announce Somerset Transition
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AUSTIN, Texas (June 11, 1998) – -Motorola and IBM today announced the transition of the Somerset PowerPC(TM) microprocessor design center located in Austin, Texas, from joint ownership to becoming wholly-owned by Motorola. The operation falls under the direction of Bertrand Cambou, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager of Motorola’s Networking and Computing Systems Group.
Both companies will continue to cooperate closely on the PowerPC architecture and its advancement in the marketplace while expanding their respective design capabilities. The companies also intend to leverage their individual design activities to compete for desktop microprocessor opportunities at Apple Computer.
Last September, IBM and Motorola announced they would jointly develop an embedded PowerPC microprocessor initiative. This activity will continue under the direction of a joint “Architectural Review Board.” This panel will be responsible for ensuring PowerPC microprocessor architecture compatibility between the two companies.
Motorola will continue its support for the computer market through enhancements and extensions of its existing PowerPC microprocessor products while expanding the product offerings targeted at networking, switching and transmission infrastructure. Other markets that will also benefit from the transition of the Somerset design center are consumer, imaging and transportation.
IBM, in turn, will continue its aggressive focus on developing high-end PowerPC microprocessors for its server products. IBM will also direct additional energies toward developing its rapidly growing PowerPC microprocessor embedded controller business, which is a key element fueling its high-growth custom logic business.
“Motorola is committed to the PowerPC architecture as an important high-performance element in our DigitalDNA(TM) strategy. The total ownership of the design center will allow us to expand our commitment to new designs for Apple and our embedded market customers,” said Hector J. Ruiz, Ph.D., president, Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector. “The pervasiveness of PowerPC microprocessors is exemplified by the 1000 or more design-ins to-date in networking, computer, telecom, broadband, wireless infrastructure, automotive, consumer and industrial applications.”
“The PowerPC architecture will continue to be extremely important to IBM,” said Douglas Grose, vice president, operations, technology and strategy, IBM Microelectronics Division.” Two of IBM’s four server lines rely on advanced PowerPC microprocessors. In addition, PowerPC microprocessor embedded ‘cores’ are one of the foundations of our high-growth custom chip business. Development activity in these two areas will be applied to meeting future requirements for desktop PowerPC microprocessors.”
The Somerset facility opened in 1992 and has been jointly funded and staffed to support the development of products based on the award-winning PowerPC architecture. The current IBM employees at Somerset will be offered careers at Motorola. Motorola also intends to increase staffing levels at Somerset in the future due to increasing customer demands for PowerPC microprocessor-based designs.
The PowerPC architecture and design methodology for microprocessors and embedded products has been firmly established by IBM and Motorola. Analysts at Microprocessor Report recently selected the PowerPC 750 microprocessor for its “Editor’s Choice Award,” naming the chip the “RISC Microprocessor of the Year.” The same publication also noted that the PowerPC architecture demonstrated a seven-fold increase in embedded unit volumes in 1997.
Source: IBM