Ex-Intel Chief’s New Startup Tackles ARM-based Server Chips

Renee James’s New Startup Tackles ARM-based Server Chips

Former Intel president Renee James is dipping her toes into the startup world. Ampere Computing, an ARM-based server chipmaker company was created in October 2017 and already has about 250 employees. The processors are modern architecture with a unique, high performance, custom core Armv8-A 64-bit server operating at up to 3.3 GHz, and a 1TB of memory at a power envelope of 125 watts, according to the company.

Built on the foundations of Applied Micro, the new company is looking to take ARM into an area with potential but minimal foothold—the 64-bit chips that power servers and storage devices in the world’s datacenters.

“There aren’t that many people in the world who build high-performance microprocessors,” said James. “And I do think we need new views on what’s next. It’s very risky, it’s very hard, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Every day you can come in with the idea you’re inventing something nobody’s done yet.”^[1]

The company reports that Ampere gives customers the freedom to accelerate the delivery of some of the most memory-intensive applications, such as artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, and databases in the cloud.

^[1] http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2018/02/renee_james_former_intel_presi.html