GlobalFoundries is shifting gears from being purely a contract chip manufacturer to becoming a more integrated compute solutions provider with its latest move – acquiring MIPS, a key developer of RISC-V-based processor IP.
As one of the “goated” names in the processor field back in the 90s and 2000s known for powering consoles such as the PS1, PS2, PSP, and Nintendo 64, MIPS has a long history in the industry not only in the gaming side of things but also serving chips to power embedded devices, routers, small equipment, etc.
The deal with GlobalFoundries will allow it to deepen its offerings in custom silicon design and tap into emerging markets like edge AI, industrial IoT, and secure computing, through the various available technologies and upcoming R&D offered by MIPS’s recent expansion into general-purpose and AI-optimized RISC-V cores under the Atlas product line.
As for MIPS, they will continue to operate as a standalone unit, but juts under its new parent company, yet they will still be offering solutions and accepting 3rd-party clients as before. On the other hand, GlobalFoundries will be able to offer its existing clients a different set of “MIPS-based products” for specific contracts and tenders.
President and COO of GlobalFoundries, Niels Anderskouv described the acquisition as a strategic step to offer more flexible, high-performance solutions backed by world-class manufacturing, while MIPS CEO Sameer Wasson echoed this, calling it the start of a “bold new chapter” and highlighting the potential to accelerate innovation in what he refers to as the “Physical AI” space.
