Based on AMD's Zen microarchitecture, Chinese manufacturers begin production of 'Dhyana' processor

by Ioan Sameli

It is reported that Chinese chipmaker · Hygon started production of x86 processor " Dhyana ". Concern about the impact on nuclear development in the United States is banning selling Intel's Xeon processor in China in 2015, and surprises are spreading that AMD built this mechanism.

China Finds Zen: Begins Production Of x86 Processors Based On AMD's IP
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/china-zen-x86-processor-dryhana,37417.html

In April 2016, AMD established a joint venture jointly-funded with the investment institution of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin Haikou Advanced Technology Investment Co., Ltd. (THATIC), and used to develop the chip of THATIC sold domestically by THATIC We have entered into a license agreement permitting you to do so.

The problem is complicated when AMD and THATIC founded two companies, Haiguang Microelectronics (HMC) and Chengdu Haiguang Integrated Circuit Design (Hygon), and their ownership stakes were 51% for AMD and 49% for THATIC respectively. On the other hand, Hygon is 30% AMD and 70% THATIC.

Originally for x86 there is a cross-license agreement between Intel and AMD, and there are various restrictions. HMC licensed from AMD for x86 's IP (Intellectual Property Rights) has further licensed Hygon, and Hygon designed x86 chips. Once the design was sold to HMC, HMC has produced chips and again sells as "Dhyana" processor from Hygon and it clears the legal problem.

This Hygon 's Dhyana processor is similar to AMD' s EPYC processor based on Zen micro - architecture, it seems that only vendor ID and family series number are different.