www.extremetech.com, May. 14, 2021 –
AMD has announced an amended wafer supply agreement (WSA) with GlobalFoundries, clarifying the relationship the two companies will have through 2024. AMD and GF have been consciously slowly uncoupling from each other for nearly a decade at this point, and while the two firms will continue to work together for the next few years, this latest WSA gives AMD total freedom to explore deals with other manufacturing partners. The new amended document states:
"The A&R Seventh Amendment also removes all prior exclusivity commitments and provides the Company with full flexibility to contract with any wafer foundry with respect to all products manufactured at any technology node."
When AMD first spun GlobalFoundries off into its own company, the two firms had an ironclad agreement: AMD would tap GF for 28nm and all future nodes, eventually transitioning all of its third-party foundry work over to its partner.