ATI has used its July Street News Flash to set the record straight on the expected impact the AMD deal will have on its business. On the announcement of the merger, many had voiced concerns over how Intel would react to the news, considering ATI has a license to provide AMDs rival with chipsets.
ATI has responded on all these issues with a touch of humor and a direct attack on rivals, nVidia. The newsletter has a heading titled Key Messages on this Strategic Alliance and those include:
On ATI's Intel License
There is no truth to the rumor that Intel has pulled ATI's chipset license. We continue to ship Intel chipsets under license.
On AMD's commitment to GPUs
The merger with AMD reinforces ATI's position as the world's best GPU supplier. AMD is absolutely committed to maintaining and extending that leadership. The merger gives access to AMD technologies and resources - for example, custom memory design - which will raise performance and reduce costs, further increasing ATI's competitiveness. Also, AMD has been extraordinarily effective in the channel, and access to their know-how, experience, and network, will be a powerful plus for ATI.
An alternative view of the ATI/AMD merger by a user on the Digg forums
On Intel platforms
AMD acquired ATI so it could be the world's number one graphics processor supplier. AMD is absolutely committed to supporting graphics on Intel platforms. Hector Ruiz, AMD's CEO, made this completely clear on the conference call that announced the merger. He stated that AMD wanted to increase choice in the market, and that included ATI graphics on an Intel platform.
On the gift to Nvidia
Nvidia has seen the writing on the wall, and doesn't like what it's saying. The PC market is a tough place to be without any friends. ATI now has all the resources of AMD behind it, and will be producing faster, more compact GPUs and reaching the channel more effectively than ever before. Nvidia's words are bravado, designed to confuse the market while the company tries to find a way to compete now that it's standing alone.