Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Hector Ruiz said Monday he’s confident that authorities will find that Intel (INTC) used illegal tactics to compete in the semiconductor market.
Speaking candidly to a gathering of technology bloggers in San Francisco, Ruiz said that once Intel’s behavior changes, he expects AMD to gain market share more quickly.
European regulators said in July that Intel gave computer makers improper payments to ensure that they would not use AMD chips, and that Intel selectively slashed prices to keep AMD from winning contracts. The European Commission is bringing a formal case against Intel, and Intel will have a chance to defend itself. If Intel’s defense is not successful, it will likely face a fine that could easily run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Intel has defended its pricing actions, saying they have been good for customers and for competition. Customers that use chips from both companies include Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL). Apple (AAPL) uses Intel chips exclusively.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbb7w-f0lls]
“There is no ‘supposedly,'” Ruiz responded in the exclusive video embedded above when asked how he expected authorities to respond to claims that Intel supposedly used unfair tactics to compete. “It will be resolved in our favor, because the information is so blatant …. I’m convinced of that.”
Ruiz went on to say, “When you look at the tremendous product that the Opteron family has been, we deserve a bigger share than we have. … This thing ought to result in their behavior stopping, the sooner the better. The moment it does, I believe we’re going to have the opportunity to significantly increase our participation in the market. It’s inevitable.”
See more of Ruiz’s comments in the video above.
