Alumnus Dobberpuhl, P.A. Semi announce new processor

P.A. Semi, Inc., a semiconductor company led by alumnus Don Dobberpuhl (BSEE '67), recently announced its success in developing the "most power-efficient high-performance processor ever designed."

“The industry recently awoke to the need to move to energy-efficient processors, and the release of our first PWRficient processor, which is up to 400 percent more power efficient than other high-performance processors, marks a significant milestone for P.A. Semi to satisfy those needs,” said Dobberpuhl, president and CEO, in a press release.

The 64-bit dual-core PA6T-1682M PWRficient processor, which is based on the company’s Power Architecture license from IBM, is engineered to consume only 5-13W of power at 2 GHz, making it 300-400 percent more power efficient than other processors on the market. The processor combines what is normally a three- to five-chip-set platform into a single chip called a “platform processor.” It took almost three years to develop.

In light of the new processor, P.A. Semi also announced that it has secured more than 100 customer engagements and 10 alpha customers, including Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES) and Mercury Computer Systems. The company is also in collaboration with other leading businesses in a variety of markets.

“Successfully delivering on the PWRficient processor’s aggressive power and performance metrics, while also building out our support and sales infrastructure, has helped to generate strong customer interest and widespread adoption,” Dobberpuhl said in a press release.