Proving Intel as a foundry business to 14nm and beyond
Using the highly regular structures and redundancy of an FPGA as a process prover hasn’t been necessary with Intel’s 22nm process as that has been fully tested out for the Ivy Bridge processors launched this week. But the deal with Achronix as a startup has been about proving that Intel could work as a foundry with smaller companies, and sourcing the right IP for the deal, he says, despite Intel pointing out problems withthe fabless semiconductor model.
“This was not negotiated at a foundry deal but as a long term partnership for 22nm and 14nm and beyond to jointly develop this FPGA take it to market,” said Holt, founder and chairman of Achronix. “They needed a lead customer that had a relatively complex design flow as a superset for other customers. They got to learn from us about how to turn a great fab into a great foundry.”
Proving the business model has been effective, says Holt. “Intel have a lot more customers than the three they have announced,” he said. “They are truly a foundry with access to large customers.”
Holt was Chairman & CEO of Achronix from 2004 to last year, raising over $120m and negotiating the deal with Intel, until bringing Robert Blake onto the Achronix team as the CEO. The deal also includes development of 14nm parts on 450nm wafer, giving a substantial cost advantage for the next generation products and taking the company into markets previously served by ASIC vendors. “We will be profitable in 22nm which is why we are investing in 14nm with Intel,” he said.
“Intel is a phenomenal partner for us,” he said. “It’s a true partnership rather than a foundry deal. They have taken a lot of IP from their microprocessor portfolio and made it programmable for us. They make them, test them, package them. You can almost think of these as Intel FPGAs designed by Achronix.”
A key point is that these parts are processed in Oregon, and tested and packaged Arizona, all in the US, which is becoming increasingly important to defence customers.
“If you look at 14nm we will do the same thing that we did at 22nm, it will probably have more IP and a broader set of solutions that will go into different market. When you are at 14nm the cost advantage if 4 to 5 time and that’s the ASIC space. That’s what drove the decision to go with Intel, and we see that accelerating”
Achronix launched its first 22nm parts this week with its synchronous HD range providing densities similar to the high end parts from Xilinx and Altera, with half the power and half the cost from Intel’s FinFET transistors and 22nm process technology. “Our margins are in the mid 70% while we are shipping parts at half the cost of Altera and Xilinx,” he said.
The company is aiming at the same high end communications and networking customers, including the growing data centre market.
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