Samsung in Talks to Acquire AMD [Report]

There's a new report coming from the South Korean media that claims Samsung is considering the acquisition of AMD chip maker.

This isn't the first time the smartphone manufacturer is thinking of buying AMD, so the information doesn't really come as a surprise. However, since these details haven't been confirmed yet and there aren't many sources that would confirm this information, we recommend our readers to take it with a grain of salt until Samsung and/or AMD come forward with an official announcement. The reason for which Samsung wants to acquire AMD is to better compete with Intel and to secure both CPU and GPU IP from the chip maker.

Since Samsung now has one of the most powerful smartphone chipsets (Exynos 7420) available on the market, it makes sense that the South Korean company will want to continue to develop and further grow its chipset business. The acquisition of AMD would definitely help Samsung in its competition with Qualcomm as well, though the South Korean company was never seen as a rival for the latter.

This isn't the first time Samsung shows interest in AMD's acquisition

A statement from a Samsung official from back 2007 mentioned that an AMD acquisition is necessary “in order to secure a new growth engine.” That didn't happened yet, but more and more reports circulate from the beginning of this year, about talks between Samsung and AMD that might end up with the acquisition of the latter by the South Korean company. Apart from AMD's expertise in the hardware technology, Samsung will also gain a solid patent portfolio that will further protect it from patent trolls and firepower to help fight off rivals like Intel and Nvidia.

What we do not know for the moment is how this will affect the PC market, as Samsung might not allows AMD to continue to compete with Nvidia and Intel on the CPU and GPU business, instead merging it with its mobile division. Once again, take this information with a grain a salt until more source confirm it or the companies make an announcement. Stay tuned for more on this one.

Samsung & AMD logos
Image credits to Samsung & AMD

Posted in: Hardware, News