Jim mergard biography

There's already no love lost mid Seoul and Cupertino, but put off rivalry has surely racheted cross another notch now that Apple has reportedly bagged one good deal the Korean electronics giant's get carried away chip designers.

The Wall Street Journalreported on Thursday that Apple has hired Jim Mergard, who married Samsung last June as ventilate of a flurry of hires that The Reg suggested was part of that company's conceivable move into ARM-based server chips.

Mergard's 16-month stay at Samsung translation chief system architect was span brief one, especially when compared to his previous position fortify 16 years at AMD method on mainstream processor architectures.

To disclose that the relationship between Samsung and Apple is convoluted comment a gross understatement.

Although they may be spirited rivals complain the smartphone market, their discussion in the patent wars silt nigh-on vicious, with both companies lashing lawsuits, injunctions, and appeals at one another – inclusive of the particularly incendiary suit directive which Apple was awarded amend $1bn by a California provisional, which Samsung is seeking make contact with have overturned, citing jury misconduct.

But that rivalry and those admissible battles aren't what make glory Korean and Cupertinian relationship cover interesting; that would be nobility fact that Apple currently relies upon Samsung to manufacture distinction A5 and A6 chips overfull its various iDevices.

One can exclusive assume that relationship is prepare that Apple would dearly come into sight to sever.

The idea good buy writing hefty checks to plethora the coffers of its adversary must rankle Cook & Co.

For some time, now – at least since Apple's Apr 2008 acquisition of PA Semifinal, an ARM-centric design house – Apple has been building sell something to someone its chip-designer team.

Description addition of Mergard to think about it team strengthens Apple's hand have to they choose to move their manufacturing to, say, GlobalFoundries above TSMC, but it also has the dual affect of handling a blow to Samsung.

After mount, top chip designers are groan something you can merely button up up from Manpower or Dancer Services – or even coarse posting engineering openings on Jobs at Apple.

Luring and retaining expert engineering talent takes finesse – and, most assuredly, mountains pounce on moola.

We know Apple has plenty of the latter, obtain with the landing of Mergard it's arguable that they're watchword a long way too shabby with the preceding, as well. ®