IBM shared chip information with Intel to stop being solely dependent on chipmaker GlobalFoundries.

GlobalFoundries is taking IBM to court. According to the chipmaker, Big Blue shared a lot of chipmaking know-how with Intel and Rapidus when it wasn’t entitled to do so. GlobalFoundries is also seeking an injunction to scrap Intel’s and Rapidus’ current roadmaps because they are based on improperly obtained information.

Intel is a well-known chip brand, but it also bakes almost all of its chips itself. Since the arrival of CEO Pat Gelsinger in early 2021, it has also been attracting more and more external orders to bake chips for other parties. Rapidus, on the other hand, is a Japanese-funded start-up that aims to serve as an alternative to the current major chipmakers TSMC and Samsung.

GlobalFoundries bought IBM’s microelectronics business in 2015. Striking: IBM had to get rid of the loss-making division so quickly that they gave GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion to complete the deal. Since that acquisition, the chipmaker has claimed to be the sole and exclusive owner of Big Blue’s licenses.

In early 2021, Intel welcomed IBM. Together they would share the research capacity for 2-nanometer chips. A year later, Rapidus announced that it had received the license for the 2-nanometer process.

Intel roadmap at risk

According to The Register, this 2-nanometer process is not mentioned anywhere in the indictment, but the fact that both Intel and Rapidus are mentioned in this case suggests it is the focus of the lawsuit. GlobalFoundries claims it should administer those licenses as the current owner of the technology.

In the lawsuit, GlobalFoundries is seeking damages from both Intel and Rapidus. At the same time, GlobalFoundries also wants future restrictions on the illegal disclosure of trade secrets. Finally, the company is also targeting IBM to recruit talented employees. She is asking the court to stop IBM’s illegal recruitment efforts.

If the court rules in GlobalFoundries’ favour, Intel and Rapidus will have a problem. Rapidus plans to only bake the first 2nm chips between 2025 and 2027, but Intel plans to make that switch as early as 2024. Depending on how closely intertwined this technology is with Intel’s intellectual property, the roadmap could look very different.