◼ TECHNOLOGY Bloomberg Businessweek August 19, 201922
ILLUSTRATION BY TOMI UMa vicepresidentofIntel’sXeonserverbusiness.
WhenSu,anelectricalengineerbytraining,
becamethefirstwomantoruna chipcompanyin
2014,shewasAMD’sfourthCEOina decade.The
companyhadlostmoneyinsixofthose 10 years,
andwithglitchychipsthatwereweakimitations
ofIntel’s,itsshareoftheserver-chipmarkethad
gonefrom26.2%tolessthan1%.Today,it’sstill
just3.4%whileIntelhasprettymuchalltherest,
accordingtoMercuryResearch,butAMD’sshare
is growing,anditssharepricehasincreasedmore
thanninefoldsinceSutookover,toabout$32.“It’s
allaboutearningcredibility.Everysingleday,”Su
says.Nowthatthechipshavebeenredesigned
fromthegroundup,sheadds,“Wearestructur-
allyina betterplace.”
BorninTaiwan,SugraduatedfromtheBronx
HighSchoolofScienceinNewYorkandgother
Ph.D.fromMIT.AfterstintsatsuchplacesasTexas
InstrumentsInc.andIBMCorp.,shearrivedat
AMDin 2012 asa seniorvicepresidentincharge
ofmuchofthecompany,andhelpedturnthings
aroundbygettingAMDchipsinMicrosoft’sXbox
OneandSony’sPlayStation4.AsCEO,she’smostly
keptherheaddownandfocusedoncustomer
demands,comparedwithpredecessorsknown
forsplashyproductlaunchesthatoftencouldn’t
deliverontheirpromisesortheirjabsatIntel.(The
long-standingindustryjokewasthatAMDstands
for“AlmostMadea Difference.”)
Susaysshe’snotinvolveddirectlyintheengi-
neeringofAMD’sproducts.YetwhenAMDwas
developingtheZenchipdesignattheheartof
itscurrentprocessors,she’dturnupinthelabto
reviewtestresults.Shealsomadethedecisionto
moveproductionofherbestchipstothefacto-
riesofTaiwanSemiconductorManufacturingCo.,
whichexclusivelybuildschipsforothercompanies
insteadofdesigningandsellingitsown.
TheCEOandherteamsaytheyaren’ttakingtheir
momentaryadvantageforgranted,orfoolingthem-
selvesaboutthechallengesahead—likethatother
96.6%oftheserver-chipmarket.“Judgemeonwhat
franchiseI buildfiveyearsfromnow,”Susays.Intel
remainsroughlyseventimesAMD’smarketvalue,
anditsserverunitalonelastyearrecordeda profit
of$11billion,closetodoubleAMD’sannualrevenue.
Still,Susaysthatimbalanceinresourcesandreach
is motivating,notoverwhelming.“Iexpectourcom-
petitionis goingtocontinuetobeveryformidable,”
shesays.“Butyeah,I thinkwe’veearneda seatat
thattable.”�IanKingTHE BOTTOM LINE AMD isn’t going to unseat Intel in the server-
chip business anytime soon, but Intel’s stumbles and CEO Su’s
steady hand have made it a credible alternative for big customers.When Midwest
Startups Sell,
Their Hometowns
Often Lose
City officials in Columbus, Ohio, could hardly
believe their luck. In less than a decade, $850,000
worth of state dollars for local startup CoverMyMeds
appearedtohavepaidoffmanytimesover.Drugdis-
tributiongiantMcKessonCorp.acquiredthecom-
panyfor$1.3billion, a state record. At each stage of
development, CoverMyMeds, which makes software
that automates insurance approvals for prescription
drugs and sells it to doctors and pharmacists, had
been nurtured by public money. The deal seemed to
vindicate the local boosters who’d steered millions
of dollars’ worth of public funds into tax incentives
and other support for Ohio’s fledgling startup scene.
That was two years ago. Today, roughly 1,000
of Columbus’s 4,300 public schoolteachers are
spending part of their summer vacation near
CoverMyMeds’ downtown headquarters, protest-
ing the property tax abatements that followed.
Since McKesson acquired CoverMyMeds in 2017, it’s● Cities keep handing local companies tax incentives
even after they’ve cashed in, shortchanging schools