Intel Shakes Up Chip Team After Stumbling on 7nm Technology
Intel is changing leadership of the company’s chip division in the wake of its 7-nanometer technology stumble.
The company is bidding adieu to chief engineering officer Murthy Renduchintala, who is going to officially depart on August 3rd and guided Intel's semiconductor business. His division, the “Technology, Systems Architecture and Client Group,” is now going to be separated into five different teams, whose leaders will report directly to Intel CEO Bob Swan.
The most significant promotion involves Ann Kelleher, who currently heads the company’s manufacturing operations. She’ll now lead Intel’s development on 7nm and 5nm chips, the key technologies necessary to keep the company competitive.
In a statement, Intel’s CEO said the changes were made “to accelerate product leadership and improve focus and accountability in process technology execution.” Last Thursday, the company shocked the semiconductor industry when Intel reported that its 7nm chips were getting delayed from late 2021 to late 2022, early 2023.
The delay is a serious setback, and paves the way for rival AMD to dominate the PC chip market for years to come. In 2021, AMD is expected to come out with 5nm chips built with technology from TSMC. And by 2023, the company could already be on the 3nm node.
Intel is confident it can fix the problems with the company’s own 7nm manufacturing process. But in the meantime, Intel is considering outsourcing at least some of its chip manufacturing to third-party semiconductor foundries. So don’t be surprised if the company announces a partnership with TSMC.
Despite the 7nm stumble, today’s announcement shows that Intel is still focused on getting the technology up and running. The company called Kelleher an accomplished leader, citing her work to ramp up the company’s 10nm technology, which is expected to produce the upcoming “Tiger Lake” chips for laptop processors in September.
In 2021, Intel also plans on debuting new 10nm "Alder Lake" chips, which will include desktop CPU processors.
According to an Intel spokesperson, the company doesn’t plan on replacing the role of chief engineering officer, which Renduchintala previously held. However, the company is looking to hire a new head of design and engineering, which will report directly to Swan.
Intel hired Renduchintala back in 2015 from rival Qualcomm.
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