AMD denies 'inappropriately' sharing chip technology with the Chinese firm

AMD claims it briefed US government agencies before its China joint ventures

AMD has dismissed reports that it improperly shared sensitive chip technology with its Chinese partners.

In a statement, the Santa Clara, California-based semiconductor company said that it did not violate any US law and had acted in completely transparent way.

AMD's reaction came in response to a report published in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, which claimed that AMD's 2016 joint venture named Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment (THATIC) allowed a leading Chinese firm to get microprocessor technology that could be used to boost China's supercomputer efforts.

According to the WSJ, AMD's partnership with the government-backed military supplier Sugon gave China access to high-performance x86 chips that are designed only by AMD and Intel. Meanwhile, the x86 licence that used to belong to Cyrix is now in the hands of Taiwan's Via Technologies.

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The WSJ's sources also claimed that AMD had created a "complex structure" with its joint ventures to skirt US laws and that the Commerce and Defence Departments had raised concerns regarding the risks posed to national security because of AMD's arrangement with the Chinese firm.

However, AMD has rejected the WSJ's claims, saying that the technology that it shared with Sugon did not include high-performance chipsets. The chip maker also emphasised that it had received prior approval from the US Commerce Department for sharing of the technology.

"Starting in 2015, AMD diligently and proactively briefed the Department of Defence, the Department of Commerce and multiple other agencies within the US government before entering into the joint ventures," said Harry Wolin, AMD senior vice president.

AMD received no objections whatsoever from any agency to the formation of the joint ventures or to the transfer of technology

"AMD received no objections whatsoever from any agency to the formation of the joint ventures or to the transfer of technology - technology which was of lower performance than other commercially available processors."

"In fact, prior to the formation of the joint ventures and the transfer of technology, the Department of Commerce notified AMD that the technology proposed was not restricted or otherwise prohibited from being transferred. Given this clear feedback, AMD moved ahead with the joint ventures."

AMD argued that the WSJ's report overlooked several vital details, such as the "protections" introduced to prevent China from obtaining sensitive technology or misusing or reverse engineering the technology to create future generations of microprocessors.

The company also claimed that the WSJ's report doesn't present a correct picture of the AMD's joint ventures with THATIC in 2016.

The company also highlighted that it had restricted the sale/purchase of products to Chinese firms in compliance with the amendment to the US "Entity List" and that it was taking further steps to ensure that no technology is transferred to firms included in the list.

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