Rumor: Intel and AMD are working on a GPU license agreement

Intel is rumored to be negotiating with AMD to license graphics technology. Intel would like to use AMD’s technology to improve the graphics capabilities of its processors.

Negotiations are still ongoing and it is not certain whether an agreement will result, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the talks. There are no details about the content. A potential deal would give AMD a much-needed new source of income; the chip designer is losing quarter to quarter and the company is struggling to tap into new markets for its chips. In addition, AMD is unable to match performance with Intel with its processors, something that the Zen architecture should change later this year.

AMD declined to comment on specifics, but said the company “is actively seeking strategic partnerships with the goal of bringing its intellectual property to market in a way that complements its own product plans and increases the use of AMD technology’. Intel declined to comment on the rumor.

Intel’s possible negotiations with AMD may be related to the expiration of Intel’s multi-year license agreement with Nvidia. It was closed in 2011 and will expire in March 2017. Intel and Nvidia came to the mutual patent agreement after years of legal wrangling over the use of each other’s technology.

Intel probably uses the GPU knowledge for low-level technology. The company has been working on improving the graphics capabilities of its processors for years, and Intel is also working on accelerators such as the Xeon Phi.