AMD Forms Dedicated GPU Division

Semiconductor company AMD is going through changes.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company on Wednesday announced that it is effectively spinning off its GPU business through the formation of a new unit called Radeon Technologies Group. The purpose of this move, which AMD is calling a "strategic realignment," is to "strengthen performance in traditional graphics markets and establish initiatives" in the areas of virtual reality and augmented reality.

AMD's Raja Koduri, 47, is leading Radeon Technologies Group as its senior vice president and chief architect. Previously, Koduri was in charge of AMD's visual and accelerated computing projects. He will report directly to AMD president and CEO Lisa Su, and will be responsible for overseeing "all aspects of graphics technologies used in AMD's APU, discrete GPU, semi-custom, and GPU compute products."

Su said in a statement: "With the creation of the Radeon Technologies Group we are putting in place a more agile, vertically integrated graphics organization focused on solidifying our position as the graphics industry leader, recapturing profitable share across traditional graphics markets, and staking leadership positions in new markets such as virtual and augmented reality."

AMD acquired ATI and its Radeon GPU technology in 2006 for a reported $5.6 billion in cash and shares.