Intel is hiring ARM’s EVP of strategy, Tom Lantzsch, to head up “internet of things” initiatives for the world’s largest chipmaker. ARM and Intel are bitter rivals when it comes to designing cores for mobile processors, a market ARM has dominated for years. Lantzsch will leave ARM next month to join Intel.
Lantzsch is already in Intel’s backyard as he has been working for ARM in Silicon Valley. During his 10 years at in the area he has also run two outside ventures, both of which were closely related to ARM.
From 2013 until 2015, Lantzsch served as chair of Sunrise Micro Devices, a developer of intellectual property for Bluetooth connectivity chips designed for IoT applications. Sunrise Micro used ARM cores in its designs and ARM was an investor in the company. In April 2015, ARM acquired Sunrise Micro Devices.
Lantzsch also founded Linaro while he was working at ARM. Linaro is an industry consortium developed to facilitate collaboration within the ARM ecosystem and the open source community. Member companies contribute funds and talent to Linaro, which leverages the expertise of roughly 300 software developers.
Before joining ARM, Lantzsch founded StarCore Semiconductors, which designs cores for digital signal processors. NXP uses StarCore technology for its wireless baseband chipsets as well as for aerospace and defense solutions.
Intel said Lantzsch has “deep strategic and operational acumen” complemented by “a pure passion for how smart and connected devices will enrich our daily lives.” The chipmaker said it sees the “internet of things” as “nothing short of a revolution, requiring a new generation of technology and 5G connectivity.”
Intel also created a new division to focus on automated cars. The group will be “solely dedicated to innovating the future of driving and designing the next generation of advanced driver assist systems and autonomous driving solutions,” the company said.
The automated driving group will be headed by Doug Davis, the current head of Intel’s IoT division. Davis has been with Intel for 30 years, and currently leads the IoT group from Phoenix. In his new role he will be joined by Kathy Winter, who joined Intel this year from Delphi. Winter will become VP and GM of an automated solutions group, which will focus on solutions for automated cars.
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