Being a CPU supplier of the US$100-laptop project launched by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) non-profit organization, the so-called “non-profit” project should not be judged as a money-losing order in terms of general business strategies, according to Henri Richard, vice president of worldwide sales at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Instead, AMD sees the project as an opportunity to help the company step into emerging markets and increase market share, said Richard at a DigiTimes International Newsmakers of 2005 seminar held in Taipei on March 2.
Richard expects demand for the US$100-laptop project will beat expectations and noted that low production costs do not equal to a weak gross margin. While continuing to maintain close relationships with worldwide system integrators and OEM customers, AMD will not avoid sponsoring specific projects for different market needs, Richard indicated.
Similar to OLPC’s US$100-laptop project, AMD already introduced its Personal Internet Communicator (PIC) to the China market in 2004, Richard said. Richard attributed AMD’s recent gains in market share to the sales contributions from emerging markets including China and India.
In contrast to Richard’s positive remarks about the “One Laptop per Child (OLPC)” concept, Intel chairman Craig Barrett described the ultra-cheap laptop as “the US$100 gadget.” Taiwan-based Quanta Computer, selected as the ODM for the project, maintained that the “non-profit” project is aimed at helping maintain the company’s competitiveness as well as helping raise Taiwan manufacturers’ brand awareness internationally.





