VIA To Offload Parts of x86 Subsidiary Centaur to Intel For $125 Million

guest · Nov 5, 2021

VIA To Offload Parts of x86 Subsidiary Centaur to Intel For $125 Million
November 5, 2021
https://www.anandtech.com/show/1704...6-subsidiary-centaur-to-intel-for-125-million

As part of their third quarter earnings release, VIA Technologies has announced this morning that the company is entering into an unusual agreement with Intel to offload parts of VIA’s x86 R&D subsidiary, Centaur Technology.

Under the terms of the murky deal, Intel will be paying Centaur $125 million to pick up part of the engineering staff – or, as the announcement from VIA more peculiarly puts it “recruit some of Centaur's employees to join Intel,” Despite the hefty 9-digit price tag, the deal makes no mention of Centaur’s business, designs, or patents, nor has an expected closing date been announced.
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A subsidiary of VIA since 1999, the Austin-based Centaur is responsible for developing x86 core designs for other parts of VIA, as well as developing their own ancillary IP such as deep learning accelerators. Via Centaur, VIA Technologies is the largely aloof third member of the x86 triumvirate, joining Intel and AMD as the three x86 license holders.
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As for the deal at hand, VIA’s announcement leaves more questions than answers.
The official announcement from VIA comes with very few details other than the price tag and the information that Intel is essentially paying Centaur for the right to try to recruit staff members to join Intel.

Update: We've since heard from both Intel and Centaur. Intel is confirming the deal, but without providing additional details. Meanwhile Centaur has no comment.
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In the meantime, local media reports are equally as puzzling, as language barriers aside, apparently even the local press isn’t being given much in the way of concrete details. None the less, local media such as United Daily News is reporting that the Intel deal is indeed not a wholesale sale of Centaur’s team, and that VIA is retaining the Centaur business.
So what Intel is getting out of this that’s worth $125 million is, for the moment, a mystery.
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VIA To Offload Parts of x86 Subsidiary Centaur to Intel For $125 Million

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