Intel and AMD have announced the establishment of the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group, inviting PC manufacturers, server providers, and cloud companies to help drive the advancement of x86 CPU architecture into the future. The two tech giants emphasized that the x86 architecture has been the foundation of the computing world for four decades, but the landscape of computing has significantly evolved with the rise of new workloads such as AI, custom chiplet designs, and 3D chip packaging. As a result, there is a need to strategize and propel x86 forward into the future.
Companies participating in this endeavor include Broadcom (owner of VMware), Dell Technologies, Google Cloud, HPE, HP, Lenovo, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, with notable individuals like Linus Torvalds and Tim Sweeney of Epic Games providing feedback to Intel and AMD on the future development of x86.
The development roadmap for x86 encompasses the integration of a more unified set of instructions and sub-architectures, expanding usage across all platforms from cloud to data centers to embedded devices, while maintaining hardware and software compatibility. Despite being direct competitors, both Intel and AMD acknowledge their collaboration in past industry standards like PCI, PCIe, ACPI, and USB, which have driven the computer industry forward.
The announcement is expected to impact the design of instruction set architectures (ISAs) of each company, as previous conflicting approaches (such as Intel’s X86S and AMD’s Supervisor Entry Extensions) will need alignment. Additionally, x86 faces new competition from Arm and RISC-V, challenging its market dominance in both client and data center segments. This dynamic landscape requires Intel and AMD to collaborate more closely in order to stay competitive.
TLDR: Intel and AMD are collaborating with industry partners to shape the future of x86 architecture, addressing new computing challenges and competition from other chip architectures like Arm and RISC-V.
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