Chip industry's two biggest and most sworn rivals have come together, here's why

Intel and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) are coming together to form a group, aiming to find new ways to expand the x86 ecosystem by enabling compatibility across platforms. This is seen as a response to the challenge posed by Arm Holdings – a British company whose designs are being used by chip designers such as Apple and Qualcomm.

Talking about the evolving landscape which is characterised by dynamic AI workloads , custom chiplets, and advancements in 3D packaging and system architectures, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the company “is on the cusp of one of the most significant shifts in the x86 architecture and ecosystem in decades – with new levels of customisation, compatibility and scalability needed to meet current and future customer needs.”

“We proudly stand together with AMD and the founding members of this advisory group, as we ignite the future of compute, and we deeply appreciate the support of so many industry leaders,” Gelsinger added.

“Establishing the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group will ensure that the x86 architecture continues evolving as the compute platform of choice for both developers and customers,” added Lisa Su, AMD Chair and CEO.

x86 architecture vs Arm architecture
Intel invented the x86 computing architecture technology that has been used to power laptops, PCs and data centre servers all over the world. AMD licences the technology from Intel and also makes chips using x86, competing directly against Intel under a longstanding legal settlement.

As per news agency Reuters, the market share of both these firms has been eroded by Arm, which allows all Arm chips to run all Arm software, regardless of who made the chip – Apple, Qualcomm, as well as Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet that use it in data centres.

Intel and AMD have been using x86 technology in their chips but software sometimes must be tweaked to work across their offerings. The “advisory group” includes members like Broadcom, Dell Technologies, Lenovo Group and Oracle, among others, as founding members.

The group aims to unify the x86 ecosystem, improve compatibility and boosting Innovation.

“To achieve this, the group will solicit technical input from the x86 hardware and software communities on essential functions and features. Collaboration will facilitate the creation of consistent and compatible implementations of key x86 architectural features and programming models, extending across all sectors – including data centers, cloud, client, edge and embedded devices – ultimately delivering downstream benefits to customers,” it said.

At a developer event hosted by Lenovo in Seattle, Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger said x86 technology can readily be adapted for uses such as new laptops with AI features.