AMD: Evolution of an Innovator

AMD: Evolution of an Innovator: "1976

* AMD and Intel sign their first comprehensive cross-license agreement, where AMD and Intel both agree to license to each other all patents each company holds.


1982

* IBM selects an Intel microprocessor for its PC but only on the condition that there is a reliable second source supplier for its PC processor needs. As a result, AMD renews a comprehensive cross-license agreement with Intel and becomes IBM’s second-source manufacturer of the 8086 and 8088 microprocessors.



* A California judge later said that – by agreeing to be a second source for Intel, “AMD came to Intel’s help when the latter needed assistance in establishing [its microprocessor] architecture in the marketplace.” This move helped Intel to establish x86 as the dominant PC architecture.

1987

* Intel notifies AMD it is terminating the second source agreement, an aggressive move to prevent AMD from producing a 486-compatible microprocessor. This begins years of legal disputes between AMD and Intel, and limits customer choice to a single source for PC microprocessors for the next several years.

1990

* In late 1990, AMD releases the Am386 ® microprocessor family, based on Intel’s 80386. Sales of the Am386 are strong due to its exceptional performance.

1991

* In October 1991, Intel commenced a federal court action for copyright infringement. An arbitrator subsequently awarded AMD full rights to make and sell the Am386. The Supreme Court of California upheld this decision in 1994.

1993

* The Am486 ® microprocessor is introduced; it powers Compaq computers and thousands of other manufacturers’ PCs.

1994

* Intel and HP announce the development of a proprietary 64-bit microprocessor architecture (code-named “Merced” and eventually launched as “Itanium”), based on an entirely new instruction set called “IA-64,” which is incompatible with the millions of existing x86-based PCs and soft"