Competing chipmakers Intel and AMD are joining forces on an advisory group for x86 computing. Invented by Intel and launched in 1978, the x86 architecture remains one of the most widely used platforms in the world, but has already been displaced by ARM in mobile, and is now fending off a challenge from that architecture in the AI space. Also participating in the x86 advisory are Broadcom, Dell, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., Lenovo, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle and Red Hat, joined by tech luminaries Linus Torvalds, inventor of Linux, and Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney.

Formally named the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group, its focus is expanding the x86 ecosystem by facilitating cross-platform compatibility and simplifying software development as workloads shift to reliance on artificial intelligence, according to an Intel news release.

The group aims to “enhance the architecture’s compatibility, predictability and consistency across all sectors, such as data centers, cloud, client, edge and embedded devices, in addition to emerging landscapes, including AI and 3D-packaging and system architectures,” writes The Wall Street Journal.

The x86 architecture originated four decades ago. The architecture has since “evolved to be highly compatible and capable of running an array of software applications, helping it become the dominant architecture used in personal computers and servers,” per WSJ.

“We are on the cusp of one of the most significant shifts in the x86 architecture and ecosystem in decades — with new levels of customization, compatibility and scalability needed to meet current and future customer needs,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, expressing gratitude for “the support of so many industry leaders.”

While AMD has developed chips using different architectures, including ARM and RISC-V, its primary focus has been x86. Forbes notes that Intel and AMD have jointly “dominated the client and server markets with their x86-based microprocessors” but is seeing that common market shrinking due to the proliferation of “ARM-based processor designs from a growing number of competitors.”

“When Amazon Web Service introduced Graviton, its Arm-based processor, in 2018, nobody knew what to make of it. Fast-forward, and it’s clear that the move started a revolution in cloud server processor market,” with AWS “disrupt[ing] a silicon duopoly that had survived decades of threats from multiple well-heeled silicon-focused competitors,” Forbes reports.

In mid-2023, “Apple fully transitioned from Intel chips to ARM-based Apple silicon,” writes The Verge. “After a decade of failed attempts Qualcomm is finally proving that it can make a good ARM chip for Windows machines.”

“AMD CEO Lisa Su said that the group expects to ensure that the x86 continues to be the platform of choice for developers and customers,” WSJ notes, explaining that to affect this “the group will, in part, solicit input regarding the chip’s necessary functions and features from hardware and software communities.”