Start-up Ambric announced has its massively multicore processor array at the 2006 Fall Microprocessor Forum. Its Am2045 features 360 32-bit RISC processors communicating across a Globally Asynchronous / Locally Synchronous (GALS) network. (See:  Ambric’s new parallel processor ).
The Emulex AV150 Intelligent Storage Processor was originally developed by Aarohi, which was purchased by Emulex in April 2006. The Emulex AV150 is one of a new breed of multicore Application Specific Integrated Circuits (MASICs??) using 10 Arc A4 devices to provide high performance to networking and storage applications.
Icera Semiconductor, the UK start-up making the Livanto soft-modem for wireless applications, has announced an additional $20M in funding from 3i as an extension to its recent Series C funding round. This brings the total invested in Icera to approximately $60M.
LSI Logic has announced its Domino [X] multicore media processor architecture. It features a RISC + DSP for video and a second RISC + DSP pair for audio. Special purpose application and security processors and a graphics engine are also included.Â
Earlier this summer, DSP core company StarCore was closed down after four years of operation, despite support from three large technology companies (Agere, Freescale, Infineon opt to close StarCore). StarCore offered a family of high performance DSP cores which were increasingly used in multicore designs. While often compared to Texas Instruments, StarCore sold primarily IP cores, while Texas Instruments primarily makes and sells semiconductors.
A New York Times / CNET story discusses the Fujitsu / Sun Sparc multicore devices. This story is based on announcements from the Fall Processor Forum.
HPCWire reports that Terra Soft Solutions has been contracted by Sony to build a Cell-based multiprocessor / supercomputer:Â Terra Soft to Build World’s First Cell-Based Supercomputer.
Earlier this summer EE Times reported that Elixent was acquired by Matsushita (Panasonic) in the article Elixent acquired by Matsushita, says report. The Elixent architecture isn’t precisely multicore, but it was based on an array of ALU elements that some view as an evolutionary step between Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and other reconfigurable computing devices and more recent multiple CPU multicore devices.
The Southwest Silicon newsletter from The University of Bath in the UK which covers regional companies reports that Ignios has closed. Ignios’ SystemWeaver was an early multicore design tool. Ignios had raised almost $4M in January 2004 and had close ties to Arc International.
The agenda for the upcoming Multicore Expo in Munich, Germany as part of the Electronica 2006 conference is available. Speakers include representatives from Intel, AMD, Arm, MIPS and others.