“Our customers' success is our success”
— AMD CEO Hector Ruiz

Collaboration was a recurring theme for 2003. Our President and CEO Hector Ruiz set the tone at January's Linuxworld conference, stressing AMD's fervent belief that early and open collaboration with partners and customers is the critical driver of true innovation. Indeed, AMD had just announced a new partnership with IBM to jointly develop advanced chip technologies, which would improve processor performance, reduce power consumption, and speed the benefits of those new technologies to the end user as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

In the PC industry, our partners were faced with serious decisions as companies and end-users considered their strategies for making the transition into 64-bit computing. AMD's approach to this evolution, known as “AMD64 technology,” was designed to help ease and accelerate the entire process. Rather than expecting customers to leave behind the platforms and applications already in use in their homes and businesses, AMD64 embraced them. In fact, AMD64 technology enabled systems to run both current 32-bit and emerging 64-bit software simultaneously. This unique flexibility allowed companies and consumers to make the 64-bit transition on their own timetables, without sacrificing performance or compatibility.

The first public availability of AMD64 technology came in April of 2003 with the launch of the AMD Opteron™ processor for servers and workstations — the first solution to extend the industry-standard x86 instruction set architecture (ISA) to 64-bit computing. The AMD Opteron processor provided enterprise customers with new choices, outstanding performance, investment protection, and a simplified path to 64-bit computing. Before the end of the year, both IBM and Sun Microsystems had announced plans for high-performance server products based on the AMD Opteron processor, and Microsoft reiterated its commitment to developing an optimized 64-bit operating system. In addition, AMD's groundbreaking alliance with Sun Microsystems included long-term joint technology development to create future hardware and software offerings.

In September, AMD64 technology spread to the PC industry with the introduction of the world's first Windows®-compatible 64-bit PC processors. The AMD Athlon™ 64 processor enabled our customers to provide PC users with unprecedented performance for their favorite 32-bit applications, along with complete readiness for the coming wave of 64-bit computing. As the world's most technically advanced and highest performing 32-bit and 64-bit PC processor, the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor was designed to deliver a cinematic computing experience to the most demanding end users — including high-end gamers and advanced digital-content creators.

In 2003, AMD also had ample opportunity to provide new points of competitive differentiation for our partners in the consumer-electronics and wireless/networking markets. In January, we announced a new Flash memory device with advanced security features for wireless applications such as mobile phones, television set-top boxes , etc. The Am29PDL640G was designed to frustrate would-be hackers and signal thieves, helping to prevent fraudulent call billing. In June, AMD introduced the Am29SL800D. Designed for portable electronics featuring sophisticated Bluetooth and Global Positioning System (GPS) modules, this device offered designers an unrivaled combination of high performance, low power consumption, and small package size.

In response to our customers' growing need for Flash memory solutions, AMD and Fujitsu merged their Flash operations to form one of the largest Flash memory companies in the world. Both AMD and Fujitsu began offering these Flash memory solutions under a new global product brand name, Spansion™, which represented our shared commitment to connecting customers with solutions that add value and differentiation to their products.

2003 also saw the expansion of our Personal Connectivity Solutions (PCS) group, as AMD acquired key information-appliance technology assets from National Semiconductor — primarily the Geode™ family of microprocessor products. The acquisition enabled AMD to offer high-performance x86 processor solutions for customers producing thin-client, smart-display, and set-top box products. It also represented the next step in AMD's vision to simplify customer options by delivering a single industry-standard architecture that can be optimized for all form factors.

AMD and Advantech Co., Ltd. then collaborated to deliver the first customer development platform based on the AMD Geode™ GX2 processor and Advantech's System on Module (SOM) solution. The compact, versatile platform enabled customers to create their own information-appliance products and applications, while streamlining the design, development, and validation process.

Finally, AMD closed out a year of impressive sales growth by breaking ground on our new 300-millimeter (mm) manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany. Using silicon wafers that are much larger than those used in most existing fabs, the new facility was designed to produce roughly 2.5 times more semiconductor “dies” per wafer — increasing production volume while reducing costs. This next-generation manufacturing technology would expand AMD's capacity and enable us to effectively meet customer demand for world-class solutions well into the future.