Sony has hired IBM to develop and produce a high-performance microprocessor for Sony's next generation of consumer electronics, including the PlayStation 3.
The agreement, announced early Monday, could bring IBM (NYSE: IBM) revenue of between $2 billion and $4 billion over three years, people familiar with the matter said.
It marks a big win for IBM's semiconductor business, which had $3.5 billion in sales to external customers last year.
John Kelly, senior vice president in charge of technology for IBM, said the new chip, code-named "Cell," will be designed at the Armonk, N.Y., company's Austin, Texas, lab, and will be produced at a fabrication plant in East Fishkill, N.Y., that IBM is building at a cost of $3 billion.
The plant is to be completed in 2002, with full production in 2003. Production of the Cell chip is slated to start in 2004. Kelly said the agreement will result in sales of tens of millions of chips, compared with its normal deals "that we make in the hundreds of thousands of units." He declined to say what products the chip will be used for.
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The agreement, announced early Monday, could bring IBM (NYSE: IBM) revenue of between $2 billion and $4 billion over three years, people familiar with the matter said.
It marks a big win for IBM's semiconductor business, which had $3.5 billion in sales to external customers last year.
John Kelly, senior vice president in charge of technology for IBM, said the new chip, code-named "Cell," will be designed at the Armonk, N.Y., company's Austin, Texas, lab, and will be produced at a fabrication plant in East Fishkill, N.Y., that IBM is building at a cost of $3 billion.
The plant is to be completed in 2002, with full production in 2003. Production of the Cell chip is slated to start in 2004. Kelly said the agreement will result in sales of tens of millions of chips, compared with its normal deals "that we make in the hundreds of thousands of units." He declined to say what products the chip will be used for.
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