The second laboratory, the MRL, is the closest thing Intel has to a
traditional central research lab. This lab does do some fundamental work
in future microprocessor architectures and technologies. Yet, even here,
the lab is careful to access and build on external knowledge in addition to
the internal knowledge it generates. For example, the new Itanium 64-bit
microprocessors are built on architectural knowledge contributed by
Hewlett-Packard’s own technologists. And the manufacturing process for
the Itanium was informed by Intel’s acquisition of the Alpha chip and its
manufacturing facilities from the Digital Equipment Corporation.