IBM and Nvidia today announced the two companies have formed a multi-year strategic alliance under which IBM will manufacture Nvidia's next-generation GeForce graphics processor units (GPUs). State-of-the-art GPUs, like Nvidia's Geforce FX, have become process and manufacturing drivers. To deliver the immense computational power needed to create cinematic images in real-time, Nvidia's GPUs require the most sophisticated process technologies. As part of the agreement, NVIDIA will gain access to IBM's comprehensive suite of foundry services and leading-edge manufacturing technologies, including power-efficient copper wiring, and a roadmap that leads to 65nm (nanometer; a billionth of a meter) in the next several years, giving the company the necessary tools to advance its state-of-the-art GPUs. IBM plans to begin manufacturing the next generation GeForce graphics processor this summer at IBM's state-of-the-art 300mm plant in East Fishkill, N.Y. The new IBM $2.5 billion chip-making facility combines, for the first time anywhere, IBM chip-making breakthroughs such as copper interconnects, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors and low-k dielectric insulation on 300mm wafers. The new facility began operation last year, and will ramp up in capacity throughout 2003. Beyond the chip manufacturing technology, IBM also offers an advanced automated management system that not only controls production on the factory floor, but provides a connection for customer and supplier systems and processes, allowing closer integration across the supply chain. IBM's automated management system provides NVIDIA with opportunities ranging from improved operation to greater efficiency and competitive advantage, while using e-business techniques to adapt to real-time, on-demand influences from the marketplace. Source: Press Release