Advanced
Micro Devices
AMD for years accused Intel
of illegal tactics in the market for
microprocessor chips, a dispute that many people may have forgotten. Hector Ruiz
wants the story remembered.
The former AMD chief has written a book that memorializes his bet-the-company
decision in 2005 to file an antitrust case against its much larger rival, a
volume of roughly 200 pages that comes with heavy doses of David versus Goliath
imagery. It’s called “Slingshot,” and subtitled “AMD’s Fight To Free An Industry
From The Ruthless Grip Of Intel.”
Intel never admitted wrong-doing, either in the suit brought by AMD or in
other antitrust cases or investigations pursued by multiple government agencies,
including the Federal Trade Commission. It did pay AMD $1.25 billion as part of
a 2009 settlement, after Ruiz had left the company.
“We don’t believe that we violated any law and consumers benefited from our
business practices,” said Chuck Mulloy, an Intel spokesman.
Ruiz, who hails from a small town in Mexico, elaborates on his humble
upbringing as well as advice and lessons learned from relatives and teachers.
Despite early difficulties mastering English, he did well in Texas
schools–including a doctorate from Rice University. He worked at Texas
Instruments
TXN -0.61%and Motorola
Inc.
MSI +0.51%before joining AMD in 2000.
Much of the book deals with why Ruiz took the risk of attacking Intel in
court, an effort called Project Slingshot. The companies had legal battles as
early as the 1980s, but the conflict in the last decade came after AMD
introduced a particularly strong lineup of chips but failed to gain as much
market share as expected. The book cites multiple examples of big U.S. and Asian
PC makers getting excited about using AMD’s products, only to back away or
reduce their commitments under what Ruiz describes as Intel financial
inducements or threats.
The examples, and quotations from internal company emails, may seem familiar
to those who followed the various legal documents released by AMD, the FTC, the
state of New York and antitrust regulators in Europe, Japan and South Korea. But
the book adds details on how Ruiz and other AMD executives developed their legal
strategies.
There are also insights into other developments during Ruiz’s tenure.
“Slingshot,” for example, states that
Nvidia
NVDA +0.01%had been AMD’s first preference to buy
to add graphics-chip expertise, a possibility Ruiz says foundered on high price
and the requirement that Nvidia’s chief take over leadership of AMD. (An Nvidia
spokesman declined comment). AMD eventually purchased ATI Technologies.
Other details concern AMD’s negotiations for financial help from Abu Dhabi,
an effort that stalled until some helpful match-making by a member of the
Ferrari sports car family (Investors in the oil-rich country had purchased a
stake in Ferrari, and AMD had sponsored one of its race cars).
The introduction helped lead to a meeting with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and
lengthy negotiations with others there, aimed at spinning off AMD’s
manufacturing operations and making the country a new force in global chip
production. It also led to what Ruiz says was one of the most difficult moments
in his career; he decided he had to join the manufacturing company to reassure
the investors about his commitment.don clark
Windows 8 is having a hard time exciting the masses .many people shopping for a new PC just want the familiarity of Windows 7.
