According to the latest report by Bloomberg, Microsoft has recruited a veteran chip designer from Apple. It was chip design architect Mike Filippo, who had just left Apple to join Microsoft, helping the software giant realize its ambition to make its own chips.
Mike Filippo started working at Apple in 2019, after nearly 10 years working as the director of semiconductor design at ARM, before that he also worked at both Intel and AMD. According to Bloomberg, Mike Filippo is a major contributor to building ARM architecture for smartphones and many other smart devices.
Apple’s A-series and M-series chips are both based on the ARM architecture. Thus, Apple’s hiring of Mike in May 2019 is said to have helped lay the first foundation for building Apple Silicon today.
Meanwhile, software giant Microsoft has increasingly expressed its ambition to design and manufacture its own processor chips. Microsoft’s Surface computer product line is still using traditional Intel processor chips. But the superiority of chips based on ARM mobile architecture may have prompted Microsoft to find a new direction.
Chip design architect Mike Filippo.
Maybe in the not too distant future, Microsoft will also launch powerful chips like Apple’s M-series, to equip its Surface computer line and increase competition. This is also sad news for Intel, as more and more giants find their own way and turn away from traditional computer chip architecture.
On the other hand, Apple is slowly losing its most talented chip designers. Recently, the director of Mac computer system architecture – Mr. Jeff Wilcox also left Apple to come to Intel. Jeff Wilcox is leading the transition to Apple Silicon with the impressive M1 line of chips.
Apple also works hard to retain key engineers, with large stock bonuses by the end of 2021. These bonuses can range from $50,000 to $180,000. But there are still many talented architects who decide to leave Apple to find a new destination.
Reference: 9to5mac
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