AMD opens Laptop R&D Lab in Tokyo

Underscoring its commitment to mobile computing customers, AMD announced today that it has opened an engineering laboratory housed in AMD Japan’s Tokyo headquarters. The AMD Japan Engineering Laboratory plans to hire 15 to 20 engineers over the next 12 to 18 months. The new lab is expected to contribute to AMD’s mobile processor platform design activities to achieve an expanded presence in thin and light notebook PCs, as well as consumer electronics and communication devices that require extremely low power.

“Japan is recognized worldwide as a leader driving the shift toward mobile computing,” said Dirk Meyer, executive vice president of AMD’s Computation Products Group. “We envision that x86 technology will continue to expand across mobile platforms, enriching the computing experience for users everywhere. AMD’s Japanese manufacturing partners are an integral part of our efforts to make this vision a reality.”

The Japanese market has been at the forefront of mobile computing for several years, with notebook PCs outselling desktop units since 2001. The preference for notebooks and other mobile computing solutions among Japanese customers has continued unabated. In 2003, the notebook segment comprised nearly 55 percent of the Japanese PC market and continues to expand.

The Japan Engineering Lab initially will be managed by Steve Polzin, Sr. AMD Fellow and Chief Platform Architect. Lab engineers will support electrical, thermal and silicon design disciplines, contributing to the development of Mobile AMD Athlon™ 64 processors, AMD Alchemy Solutions and AMD Geode Solutions. As part of AMD’s customer-centric design effort, the engineering team will work closely with the company’s silicon engineering teams in Austin and Dresden, as well as platform engineering teams in Austin and Taipei. “Japanese customers typically demand the world’s highest quality, and Japan is the country where mobile computing trends are set,” said Kazuo Sakai, corporate vice president, sales and marketing, AMD South Asia Pacific and Japan. “By establishing this new engineering lab in Tokyo, our Japanese customers will be able to influence and contribute to mobile device feature definitions in a more significant way.”

“Japan is leading the world in the advancement of the mobile market. Sharp takes pride in market innovation, and we welcome AMD's JEL establishment which will help AMD's excellent processor technology to be optimized for mobile applications,” said Hirohide Nakagawa, group general manager of Information and Communication Systems, Sharp Corporation. “We will work closely with AMD's JEL to develop future notebook PCs which meet our customers’ needs in a timely fashion."