According to Reuters, Intel has shared access to its Atom CPU technology with a startup called RosaicLabs Inc., marking a rare move for the chipmaker of transferring in-house intellectual property to a third party. Specifically, Intel is providing register-transfer level (RTL) code for an Atom-class x86 core, which defines how the chip functions before it is turned into actual silicon. This RTL access would let Rosaic build its own custom system-on-chip designs based on x86 general-purpose cores, either at Intel Foundry or elsewhere.
RosaicLabs was incorporated in May and is currently seeking to raise about $10 million in seed funding, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The startup has no public website or LinkedIn presence, which is common for companies operating in stealth mode, so it remains unknown what kind of chip it plans to build or which markets it intends to pursue.
The startup is led by Amarjit Gill, a venture capital investor who has repeatedly partnered with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The two previously invested together in Nuvia, a high-performance chip startup later acquired by Qualcomm, and in Rivos, a RISC-V processor company that Meta acquired for roughly $2 billion last year.
It is unclear exactly which Atom-class core Intel has licensed to Rosaic. Tom's Hardware notes that Intel's low-power x86 cores have evolved over time, from the older Tremont microarchitecture used in Elkhart Lake and Jasper Lake chips, to newer designs like Crestmont, Skymont, and Darkmont, which power various current Xeon and Core Ultra processors. If Intel provided complete, synthesizable RTL, Rosaic could technically modify elements such as cache sizes, pipeline structure, clock speeds, and power management, though the exact terms and restrictions of the license are not known.
Intel has historically been reluctant to license its x86 cores or instruction set architecture to avoid creating competitors. Tom's Hardware points out that Intel granted about a dozen manufacturing licenses for its 80286 and 80386 chips in the 1980s, though only AMD received a full x86 design license. Later attempts to extend Atom technology to third parties, including a partnership with TSMC and the SoFIA program with Rockchip and Spreadtrum, ultimately failed to gain traction in the market.
Wccftech notes that Intel's latest Atom chips, including updates to the P-Series and new Atom X Series chips, are aimed at server and networking uses and were announced as recently as this year. The outlets differ slightly in framing: TechPowerUp suggests Tan may be pursuing a broader strategy of licensing x86 technology to prevent startups from turning to rival architectures, while Tom's Hardware describes the rationale behind the deal as still largely unclear, noting that Rosaic is only two months old and its commercial prospects remain unknown.