Already backed by Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA and Chips & Technologies Inc (CI No 1,128), Nexgen Microsystems Inc, San Jose, California looks increasingly like a serious competitor for Intel Corp with its eight chip emulation of the 80386 architecture following the suggestion in the Wall Street Journal that Compaq Computer Corp is to join the ranks of investors in the firm. Compaq declined to comment, but the Journal hears that it has made an initial investment of $5m to $10m in the company: Compaq has made no secret of the fact that it is unhappy at being single sourced on the microprocessors at the heart of all its machines, and that Intel has moved into the systems business in competition with its customers. The eight chip set is fully software- but not pin-compatible with the 80386 and 80486: it applies RISC techniques to the creation of a set that emulates the Intel CPU, cache controller and maths co-processor, and a single processor is rated at about 25 MIPS; the company’s systems will cost $10,000 to $50,000 for a fully-configured four processor model. Original investors in Nexgen also include Yamaha Corp and Mitsui & Co.
