Advanced Micro Devices seeks to almost double its market share throughout the next two or three years, its CEO has said in an interview with journalists. Other AMD executives have made even bolder claims and expected the chipmaker’s share to be 50% by 2015.

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t aspire be a third of the market in the next two or three years,” Hector Ruiz, chairman, president, and CEO of AMD, told InformationWeek recently.

In Q1 2005 AMD commanded 16.9% of the x86 central processing units market, up about 1.9% from the first quarter of 2004 and an increase of 0.3% sequentially, according to market research figures by Mercury Research. Intel’s market share was 81.7% in the first quarter, or down 0.5% compared to the Q4 2004 and 1.8% annually. The remaining 1.4% of the market was shared by chip designers like VIA Technologies and Transmeta Corp.

“We want to be able to provide half the world’s [processing] needs,” claimed Marty Seyer, corporate VP and general manager of AMD’s microprocessor business unit.

For AMD market share increase is not only bound up with sales and marketing efforts, but also involves serious expansion of manufacturing capacities. Currently AMD can produce up to 20 000 200mm wafers per month at its Fab 30 facility in Dresden, Germany. Once AMD launches its Fab 36, located adjacent to the Fab 30, it will be able to manufacture up to 13 000 300mm wafers, which is equivalent to about 29 250 200mm wafers. Furthermore, AMD is working with third-party chipmakers, primarily with Chartered Semiconductor, who use similar process technologies co-developed by IBM, to outsource part of microprocessor production to them.

AMD completed the Fab 36 building in late 2004 and then started installation of the equipment. The maker of microprocessors started qualifications of the factory in in April, 2005. AMD Fab 36 is expected to be in volume production in 2006.

Earlier, AMD's market share target was 25%.