GlobalFoundries will not be able to meet 7nm demand from AMD

In a recent interview, GlobalFoundries chief technologist Gary Patton revealed the foundry uses similar pitches and SRAM cells at the 7nm node than TSMC. This will give AMD more flexibility to shop around, something that will be necessary because the chip designer will have more demand than GlobalFoundries has capacity. AMD's first 7nm chip is expected to be taped out later this year.

But it’s also interesting to see GF moving to align its 7nm roadmap in a way that makes it easier for AMD to design at both TSMC and GF, because that’s precisely what foundries typically don’t do. With a few abortive exceptions, like the Common Foundry Platform (now defunct), a chip built at one foundry simply can’t be built at another without a full redesign. This is why companies don’t typically move production from one firm to another, even in the face of substantial delays. The implication here is that while AMD and GF are no longer formally attached or affiliated with each other, AMD remains one of GF’s largest and most important customers.

The implication here is that AMD will likely use GlobalFoundries for its 7nm CPUs and APUs, and rely on TSMC for its 7nm GPUs.

Via: ExtremeTech