Intel Buys Finnish Graphics IP Developer Siru Innovations

[TheLostSwede]

Intel has announced that it has bought 11 year old, veteran Finnish graphics IP developer Siru Innovations. You'd be forgiven if you've never heard about the company, but it has pedigree harking back to the late 1980's and early 1990's, as at least one of its founders was part of the legendary demogroup Future Crew that made some of the most impressive graphics and audio demo software during the BBS era. All three founders were at Bitboys when it was founded in the 1990's and if you haven't heard about Bitboys, you might simply not be old enough. The company was hyped for its Glaze3D graphics architecture that never actually launched, due to the fact that Infineon stopped manufacturing a very specific type of embedded memory that the GPUs were based on.

Bitboys was later acquired by ATI, who in turn of course was taken over by AMD. However, the story doesn't end here, as AMD sold the Imageon business unit to Qualcomm in 2009 and the three founders of Siru moved to Qualcomm for a couple of years, before starting Siru. Since the Intel announcement, the Siru website has been taken down, but the company was working on developing mobile graphics IP, as well as helping other companies develop their own graphics related IP, drivers and so on. As to what Intel is planning on doing with the Siru team isn't entirely clear, but Balaji Kanigicherla, Intel's VP and General Manager, AXG Custom Compute Group Innovating Custom Silicon & Platform Solutions in Blockchain, High Performance Edge Compute and Cloud Computing, Supercomputer, posted on LinkedIn saying that Siru will be joining the AXG Group. You can read the full post below.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Frick]

"As to what Intel is planning on doing with the Siru team isn't entirely clear, but Balaji Kanigicherla, Intel's VP and General Manager, AXG Custom Compute Group Innovating Custom Silicon & Platform Solutions in Blockchain, High Performance Edge Compute, Cloud Computing, Supercomputer, posted on LinkedIn saying that Siru will be joining the AXG Group."

I am sure there are some words missing there, or it's the worlds worst name for a group.

Anyway, whenever I read about Finnish IP innoations I assume it has to do with Bitboys.

 

[Jism]

They proberly got IP so buying a complete company makes you already the owner.

Bitboys was fun. Known for vaporware.

They basicly made claims that their 8MB graphics card was able to outbeat both Nvidia, AMD and others like Matrox. Frankly they where never able to release any proper functional graphics card.

 

[TheLostSwede]

"As to what Intel is planning on doing with the Siru team isn't entirely clear, but Balaji Kanigicherla, Intel's VP and General Manager, AXG Custom Compute Group Innovating Custom Silicon & Platform Solutions in Blockchain, High Performance Edge Compute, Cloud Computing, Supercomputer, posted on LinkedIn saying that Siru will be joining the AXG Group."

I am sure there are some words missing there, or it's the worlds worst name for a group.

Anyway, whenever I read about Finnish IP innoations I assume it has to do with Bitboys.

Nothing missing, he just has a very, very, very, very long title. I just copied it from LinkedIn.
Added an and in the end now, not sure if it really helped though.

 

[mechtech]

They proberly got IP so buying a complete company makes you already the owner.

Bitboys was fun. Known for vaporware.

View attachment 246071

View attachment 246072

View attachment 246073

They basicly made claims that their 8MB graphics card was able to outbeat both Nvidia, AMD and others like Matrox. Frankly they where never able to release any proper functional graphics card.

And after the Intel purchase they probably have a good retirement fund now.

 

[Steevo]

Is this intel grasping at anything GPU related they can get their hands on to help?


Nah, their GPUs are great!!!

 

[r9]

I think I got it.

They probable googled Graphics IP companies and went shopping. Buy now figure out what to do with it later.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I think I got it.
View attachment 246082

They probable googled Graphics IP companies and went shopping. Buy now figure out what to do with it later.

Sorry, for us old timers that was around when all this stuff kicked off, it's kind of exciting to see that these people are still around, doing what they were doing all those years ago.
Figured most people wouldn't be overly familiar with who the people behind the company was, so it needed a somewhat complex history lesson.

 

[r9]

They proberly got IP so buying a complete company makes you already the owner.

Bitboys was fun. Known for vaporware.

View attachment 246071

View attachment 246072

View attachment 246073

They basicly made claims that their 8MB graphics card was able to outbeat both Nvidia, AMD and others like Matrox. Frankly they where never able to release any proper functional graphics card.

Who would have thought that intel would need help in the GPU vaporware department. Me personally I think they are doing great job on their own.

 

[Zareek]

Sorry, for us old timers that was around when all this stuff kicked off, it's kind of exciting to see that these people are still around, doing what they were doing all those years ago.
Figured most people wouldn't be overly familiar with who the people behind the company was, so it needed a somewhat complex history lesson.

It seems like yesterday I always wondered what happened to them, I had no idea ATI acquired them.

 

[TheLostSwede]

It seems like yesterday I always wondered what happened to them, I had no idea ATI acquired them.

I guess my little history lesson wasn't entirely useless then.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

That's so funny, I literally just commented on the ISMC article earlier today asking if anybody else is disturbed like I am about how easily and frequently Intel is swallowing up every company that can fit in the gaping maw without any government scrutiny. The fact is that an acquisition shouldn't just activate alarm bells if it is of a company in the same specific realm of market of competition, but if it just adds to the size of an already bloated and monopolistic company as well. There's no shortage of people in the enthusiast community claiming to support "competition", yet, in between the constant cheerleading for the largest, monopolistic companies who continually engage in uncompetitive practices, I'm sure you know which companies I speak of, and whose victories add just another nail in the coffin to the concept of competition in the x86 and graphics marketplace, there is absolute silence on the practices discussed in this article. Since Gelsinger took over, I don't believe we've gone even a month without a story about Intel swallowing up another company, and now that I come to think of it, weren't there reports last year of Intel looking to swallow Global Foundries? Perpetual consolidation is a HUGE problem in nearly every market and industry, and almost nothing is ever done about it, but it is especially bad in the PC market, and I would think anyone who supports even the concept of maintaining true competition in the future, would be as troubled by this tend as I am. It seems like Intel is on one front, trying to buy up all the capacity of the newest nodes at TSMC (news from just the other day alleges this and predicts that Zen5 will either be delayed or forced to stay on a larger node) to keep them out of AMD's hands, and then on the other front, dominating the rest of the foundry market......I feel like it goes without saying that a reality in which AMD would be forced to be a customer of Intel or an intel subsidiary would be a severely troubling reality.

**I'm sure there'll be some who will write this off as the ramblings of an AMD fanboy, but the truth is, that I'd be cheering for any and every company that would find itself in AMD's position, e.g. engaged in two markets in which you're the absolute underdog in both and your competition spends anywhere from 5x to 7.5x the money on R&D as you do, has a historical precedent of engaging in blatantly anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices (e.g. bribing OEMs to not carry your competitors products, GeForce partnership program, etc), and a track record of using those ill-gotten financial gains to undermine the competition rather than beating them in the field of innovation (e.g. Intel buying up all of TSMC's 3nm capacity to keep it out of AMD's hands). I don't cheer for AMD due to the tribalism that motivates the most toxic elements in this community (just spend five minutes in the comments section of an article on WCCFtech and you'll be ashamed that such individuals claim to represent the same community), but unfortunately, at this moment, AMD is our only realistic chance at ensuring we don't return to the pre-Ryzen days of perennial 4-core CPU stagnation and 5% generational "uplifts", or whatever dystopia would be ushered in by a gpu marketplace solely dominated by Nvidia, and I don't perceive a graphics marketplace under the boot of an intel/Nvidia duopoly to be any better, as I wouldn't put it past them to engage in price-fixing or other practices in cartelism. Can anyone else remember the pre-ryzen days? Does anybody else want to return to them? I don't even want to return to the days when an AMD CPU was a consolation prize you settled on strictly for budgetary reasons (e.g. bulldoze/piledriver) and had few, if any, redeeming qualities. I think a lot of people just assume that AMD is here to stay, but the truth is, when you actually look into it, their position is still very precarious and the next few years are going to be extremely important for shaping the next decade with respect to competition, especially if the reports of Intel having bought up all of TSMC's 3nm capacity (despite having their own fabs) and causing Zen5 to either be delayed or forced to an inferior node, turns out to be true. AMD still has not gained nearly enough marketshare in the two most lucrative x86 markets: enterprise and mobile, especially mobile where the vast majority of consumers don't even know AMD exists, conceive of the word "laptop" and intel as interchangeable, and just go to best buy where they wouldn't even conceive of buying an AMD product and the salesperson wouldn't even try to disavow them of that preconception.

 

[Zareek]

I guess my little history lesson wasn't entirely useless then.

No sir, very much appreciated in fact. A stroll down memory lane.

 

[Lycanwolfen]

Future Crew made all the sound mods for unreal tourament.

 

[chstamos]

And to think I was making fun of intel's graphics department for approaching bitboys oy infamy a couple of weeks ago.

That's a match made in heaven.

 

[r9]

That's so funny, I literally just commented on the ISMC article earlier today asking if anybody else is disturbed like I am about how easily and frequently Intel is swallowing up every company that can fit in the gaping maw without any government scrutiny. The fact is that an acquisition shouldn't just activate alarm bells if it is of a company in the same specific realm of market of competition, but if it just adds to the size of an already bloated and monopolistic company as well. There's no shortage of people in the enthusiast community claiming to support "competition", yet, in between the constant cheerleading for the largest, monopolistic companies who continually engage in uncompetitive practices, I'm sure you know which companies I speak of, and whose victories add just another nail in the coffin to the concept of competition in the x86 and graphics marketplace, there is absolute silence on the practices discussed in this article. Since Gelsinger took over, I don't believe we've gone even a month without a story about Intel swallowing up another company, and now that I come to think of it, weren't there reports last year of Intel looking to swallow Global Foundries? Perpetual consolidation is a HUGE problem in nearly every market and industry, and almost nothing is ever done about it, but it is especially bad in the PC market, and I would think anyone who supports even the concept of maintaining true competition in the future, would be as troubled by this tend as I am. It seems like Intel is on one front, trying to buy up all the capacity of the newest nodes at TSMC (news from just the other day alleges this and predicts that Zen5 will either be delayed or forced to stay on a larger node) to keep them out of AMD's hands, and then on the other front, dominating the rest of the foundry market......I feel like it goes without saying that a reality in which AMD would be forced to be a customer of Intel or an intel subsidiary would be a severely troubling reality.

**I'm sure there'll be some who will write this off as the ramblings of an AMD fanboy, but the truth is, that I'd be cheering for any and every company that would find itself in AMD's position, e.g. engaged in two markets in which you're the absolute underdog in both and your competition spends anywhere from 5x to 7.5x the money on R&D as you do, has a historical precedent of engaging in blatantly anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices (e.g. bribing OEMs to not carry your competitors products, GeForce partnership program, etc), and a track record of using those ill-gotten financial gains to undermine the competition rather than beating them in the field of innovation (e.g. Intel buying up all of TSMC's 3nm capacity to keep it out of AMD's hands). I don't cheer for AMD due to the tribalism that motivates the most toxic elements in this community (just spend five minutes in the comments section of an article on WCCFtech and you'll be ashamed that such individuals claim to represent the same community), but unfortunately, at this moment, AMD is our only realistic chance at ensuring we don't return to the pre-Ryzen days of perennial 4-core CPU stagnation and 5% generational "uplifts", or whatever dystopia would be ushered in by a gpu marketplace solely dominated by Nvidia, and I don't perceive a graphics marketplace under the boot of an intel/Nvidia duopoly to be any better, as I wouldn't put it past them to engage in price-fixing or other practices in cartelism. Can anyone else remember the pre-ryzen days? Does anybody else want to return to them? I don't even want to return to the days when an AMD CPU was a consolation prize you settled on strictly for budgetary reasons (e.g. bulldoze/piledriver) and had few, if any, redeeming qualities. I think a lot of people just assume that AMD is here to stay, but the truth is, when you actually look into it, their position is still very precarious and the next few years are going to be extremely important for shaping the next decade with respect to competition, especially if the reports of Intel having bought up all of TSMC's 3nm capacity (despite having their own fabs) and causing Zen5 to either be delayed or forced to an inferior node, turns out to be true. AMD still has not gained nearly enough marketshare in the two most lucrative x86 markets: enterprise and mobile, especially mobile where the vast majority of consumers don't even know AMD exists, conceive of the word "laptop" and intel as interchangeable, and just go to best buy where they wouldn't even conceive of buying an AMD product and the salesperson wouldn't even try to disavow them of that preconception.

When is the audio book coming out ?

And to think I was making fun of intel's graphics department for approaching bitboys oy infamy a couple of weeks ago.

That's a match made in heaven.

I don't think they are after their gpu building knowledge because they never built anything but they can offer something much better and that is how a company can survive for 40 years with out making anything and that my friend is priceless.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

So, I wonder if this was orchestrated by Raja to get help or was it done by Intel to get rid of Raja?

My guess is they will be given over to driver development to start.

 

[kapone32]

When is the audio book coming out ?


I don't think they are after their gpu building knowledge because they never built anything but they can offer something much better and that is how a company can survive for 40 years with out making anything and that my friend is priceless.

That is the funniest thing I have read all week.

So, I wonder if this was orchestrated by Raja to get help or was it done by Intel to get rid of Raja?

My guess is they will be given over to driver development to start.

DIdn't these Guys work for Raja at ATI?

 

[thesmokingman]

This will totally propel them to make a better graphics card.

 

[bencrutz]

DIdn't these Guys work for Raja at ATI?

yep, and then imageon sold to qualcomm and Raja went to apple