Intel ups stake in iPhone GPU maker
updated 07:45 am EST, Tue December 23, 2008
Intel Stake in Imagination
Intel has countered Apple's investment in Imagination Technologies with an increased stake of its own. The semiconductor maker says it has bought just over 6.9 million shares in Britain-based Imagination to gain a 3.04 percent stake in the company and warns in a required statement that it may respond to any bid to acquire the company with a counter offer of its own, though it adds that there is no immediate intention to launch a takeover itself.
It's unclear whether the move is intentionally meant to deter Apple from mulling a buyout bid, though both firms notably have an increasing dependence on Imagination's PowerVR graphics technology for their mobile platforms.
Apple currently uses a PowerVR MBX Lite graphics chipset for all generations of the iPhone and iPod touch and is known to be moving to the faster, more feature-rich PowerVR SGX in future products. Intel in turn uses the graphics for its recent CE 2110 and 3110 embedded chips and should use it for its Poulsbo-based Atom architecture meant for smartphones, mobile Internet devices and netbooks.
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Well, I'm guessing Intel predicts the future is small mobile computing and that with the combination of certain resources, IT included, intel could face a new competitor. Since Apple purchased a stake, then Intel matched it, and now doubled it, Intel is either working with Apple or is trying to prevent Apple in creating a mobile computing competitor. While Apple could just continue licensing the IT tech, it would hinder building a cost efficient competitor to Intel's own offerings. After all, USB come to dominate over Firewire not because it was superior, but b/c of the bottom line to install the technology. I'm not suggesting the mechanisms were the same here, just that it would be in Intel's interest to prevent a competitor or potential competitor from acquiring this company. All a guess though.