Part 5/12:
A major turning point was AMD’s manufacturing struggles. The company lagged behind Intel in shrinking process nodes — increasingly vital for performance and efficiency. This delay culminated in 2008, when AMD spun off its manufacturing arm into Global Foundaries, selling a majority stake and earning a temporary cash influx of approximately $700 million. Yet, this move entwined AMD in a long-term wafer supply agreement that obliged them to purchase virtually all chips from Global Foundaries until 2024. Consequently, AMD was still dependent on manufacturing partnerships that increasingly fell behind in advancing process technology.