Under the theme ‘Acceleration: Llano Races Ahead’, global partners ATIC, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, AMD (NYSE: AMD) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES came together today (Wednesday) to showcase Abu Dhabi’s role in bringing the future of high tech computing to life.

An audience of peers, industry partners, academia and government gathered at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi to hear the latest on the upcoming 32nm AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) code-named “Llano”, giving attendees a glimpse of the strategy and thinking behind the technology.

Manufactured by GLOBALFOUNDRIES, an ATIC portfolio company and one of the world’s leading semiconductor chip manufacturers, the upcoming “Llano” APU is set to enhance the computer user experience, increase battery life and provide consumers with discrete-level graphics capabilities. The semiconductor market was worth an estimated US$300 billion in 2010, with microchips acting as ‘the brains’ behind an ever-growing number of products that have become essential tools of modern life.

Ibrahim Ajami, CEO of ATIC said: “The manufacturing of the upcoming “Llano” APUs are a great proof point to the strategic investment partnership between ATIC, Mubadala, AMD and GLOBALFOUNDRIES in this increasingly global industry. Through investments in GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Fab 1 facility in Dresden, Germany - where the “Llano” APU is manufactured - ATIC is driving advances in technology that will meet increasingly sophisticated customer demands and market needs.

” The briefing addressed the increasingly global role Abu Dhabi is playing in the advanced technology sector, mainly in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Speakers at the event included Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and GM of AMD’s Product Group; Sami Issa Executive Director of Abu Dhabi Ecosystem Unit – ATIC; Daniel Durn, Executive Director of Strategy and Investment – ATIC; Jim Ballingall,. Ph.D., VP of Marketing- GLOBALFOUNDRIES; and Dirk Wristers, Ph.D., Vice President of Technology Research & Development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES.

Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and GM of AMD’s Product Group, gave a presentation which provided insight into the value the upcoming “Llano” APUs will deliver. “The upcoming “Llano” APU, combined with our popular C- and E-series AMD Fusion APUs, represents one of the most significant leaps forward in computing in decades. Our “Llano” Fusion APU will enable consumers to enjoy a brilliant high definition experience along with unprecedented discrete-level GPU compute power for a notebook PC,” said Bergman. “We are very excited to be here in Abu Dhabi to share with the region firsthand what the AMD Fusion family of APUs will mean for the industry moving forward as well as highlight the role of GLOBALFOUNDRIES in helping us bring our 32nm APUs to market.”

During his presentation, Jim Ballingall Ph.D. VP of Marketing – GLOBALFOUNDRIES said “The visionary investment strategy of our partner ATIC is not only changing the face of Abu Dhabi, but it also is playing a major role in reshaping the landscape of the entire semiconductor industry. The collaboration with AMD to bring “Llano” to market is a milestone on many fronts, representing the first High-k Metal Gate product to be manufactured by any foundry and the first product from AMD to come to market on 32nm technology.”