AMD – The evolution of semiconductor firm from designing simple Shift register to high tech processors

The semiconductor industry is one of the inherently risky industries. Because we know that technology evolves every year, and people also demand products that use cut edge technology. But the product development cycle generally takes three to five years, so companies need to stay one step ahead of the customer’s demand. It means, the firms need to develop such products in advance that customers will demand a few years later. Thus, if any semiconductor firm doesn’t follow the update then it will be out of competition, surely.

In such a scenario, very few old firms succeed to keep their dominance in the semiconductor industry. Advanced Micro Devices i.e. AMD is one of such names that still have a high reputation and has acquired a large market globally. Since 1969, the firm has gone through lots of evolution as well as up-downs but succeeds to meet the exceptions of every generation.

What is AMD?

A USA based multinational semiconductor firm AMD is well-known all over the world. It is headquartered in Santa Clara in California. The firm is recognized for its computer processors and the development of other technologies for business as well as personal consumers. Mainly the firm has manufacturing units of microprocessors, motherboard chipsets, graphics processors, and embedded processors. These are used for PCs, servers, workstations, and embedded system applications.

How it is formed?

To see the history of AMD’s establishment we have to look back to the year 1969. Yes, it is that old and still stands out than other Rivals. Meanwhile, in 1969, the former executives of Fairchild semiconductor established Advanced Micro Devices to develops their own products. They were almost seven colleagues including Jerry Sanders III, John Carey, Ed Turney, Sven Simonsen, Jack Gifford, and the other three members.

Soon after a year of establishment, the firm released the first product. It was a 4-bit MSI shift register of series Am9300. Also, it launched the logic counter of series Am2501, which was commercially successful. As well, it was the fastest multiplier available at that time. Thereafter, AMD developed many other products including RAM chips, processors, etc.

Products Of AMD

Since 1969, AMD acquired large business as well as consumer market due to its promising products. US Department of Energy also favors AMD’s chips for its project of the supercomputer. As well, the firm is a powering exascale class supercomputer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Moreover, the Ryzen processor is a well-known product of AMD. Recently, the firm released the third generation of this product. Another processor called Epyc is a milestone of Advanced Micro Devices, designed for data centers. Apart from processors, firm design CPU, APU, RAM, Graphics products, etc. Athlon, Opteron, Radeon, Radeon Instinct are some of the products of AMD.

Strategy

Standing out in the competition in the semiconductor industry is not a cakewalk. When there are tough competitors like Intel, it gets more difficult. Despite all challenges, AMD stands strong in the industry since it’s the foundation. For this, credit goes to the policymakers and founders. The firm adopted a unique strategy and focus on areas of development of high-performance processors, computing architecture, and gaming graphics chips. While stayed away from entering technology related to mobile phone development, basically the areas outside its core Competencies.

Some of the key founders of AMD

Walter Jeremiah Sanders III

He is an American businessman and one of the core founding members of AMD. As well, he served as the CEO of the firm for a long time. Before that, Jerry worked at Fairchild semiconductor, a firm that design the first IC.

Edwin James Turney

He shares great contributions in the establishment of AMD i.e. Advanced Micro Devices. Before that, he also worked at Fairchild Semiconductor. At AMD, he served as a vice president of sales and administration for a long time.

Other Founders

The Fairchild Semiconductor’s former employees Jack Gifford, Larry Stenger, John Carey, Frank Botte,  Sven Simonsen, Jim Giles also helped in the AMD Foundation.

Later success

Lisa Su is presently serving as the CEO of AMD since 2014. Under her policy, AMD achieved great success and stability in the commercial market. Though the firm business is affected due to the US-China trade war as well as disruptions due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the firm’s shares are increased by more than 1,300%. Currently, AMD is focusing on the global data center market. While other high-tech companies focusing on next-generation technologies such as 5G, IoT, AI, etc. Last year, AMD stock was the best performing stock in the S&P 500. As well, it is in growing about 150% during this year.