Tsinghua to Build New General-Purpose Processor with Intel

Tsinghua University, Intel Corporation and Montage Technology Global Holdings, Ltd. signed an agreement on January 21st to develop a new general-purpose CPU module.

It will create locally developed and indigenous solutions to meet specific requirements for data center infrastructure in China.

According to the agreement, Tsinghua will develop a reconfigurable computing processor (RCP) module and associated system software that will work with a standard Intel Xeon microprocessor to add capabilities that address specific local demands.

The new general-purpose CPU module, based on the integration of reconfigurable computing technology and the Intel x86 architecture, will help deal with specific local capacity. It will also meet the urgent demands of data centers and other high performance applications and servers.

Intel will provide funding and serve the growing data center market in a variety of ways, using industry-leading Intel Xeon processors and other silicon components.

Montage Technology will commercialize the innovative new products that use Intel Xeon processors and Tsinghua's RCP, and deliver them to the Chinese market in 2017.

The reconfigurable computing technology will feature both the high flexibility of a general-purpose computing system and the high performance and low power consumption of a special-purpose computing system.

It is recognized as ground-breaking integrated circuit technology for the next generation.

Professor Wei Shaojun from the Institute of Microelectronics at Tsinghua University has made considerable achievements in the research of reconfigurable computing technology. Many of his internationally-recognized studies have already been applied to the industry.

The core technology developed by his team won the second prize for the 2015 State Technological Invention Award. It also won the 2015 China Gold Patent Award, which is issued by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

(From Office of Global Communications and Outreach)