AMD has GPUs made at Global Foundries

AMD started this year with the involvement of Global Foundries for its GPU production and for the making of its semi-custom chips. Previously, the chip design company had its GPUs made at TSMC. Nvidia may start using TSMC’s 16nm Finfet production in mid-2015.

Global Foundries would have made great strides with its manufacturing, AMD chief financial officer Devinder Kumar said at an investor meeting. “For the first time in the relationship, we’re not only making PC products, but also graphics and semi-custom products at Global Foundries. We’ll continue to do that in 2015,” said Kumar.

By PC products he refers to processors and APUs and by graphics to GPUs. Until now, AMD had its video chips made at TSMC. AMD divested Global Foundries in 2008. Kumar said AMD will “manufacture some products at 20nm” and move from there to the production of Finfet chips. Globalfoundries is working together with Samsung for the 14nm production of Finfet chips, which wants to invest heavily in chip production next year.

Finfets have a larger gate area for faster switching of the transistors. Finfet chips are also more economical, smaller and cheaper to produce. Intel already started with the finfet ‘3d transistors’ in its 22nm production.

TSMC will start in mid-2015 with finfet transistors at 16nm. It is unclear whether AMD will also remain a partner at TSMC and in addition, the question is what Nvidia will do with 20nm production and what the group will use 16nm production for: the first 16nm products at TSMC would be mobile chips.