AMD woos another chip engineer away from Apple

Another silicon expert has left Apple to work for AMD, joining a number of other engineers who have jumped to the chipmaker in recent years.

Raja Koduri, a 44-year-old engineer with expertise in graphics technology experience, has left his position at Apple to work for Advanced Micro Devices, according to Bloomberg. In his new position, he will reportedly "lead engineering efforts in visual computing."

Koduri will report directly to AMD's Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster, who is also a former Apple employee. Papermaster departed Apple in 2010 after he reportedly had a falling out with the company's then-CEO, Steve Jobs, in what was described as a "cultural incompatibility."

In fact, Koduri is just the latest Apple employee to leave for a position with Papermaster at AMD. Last August, it was also revealed that Jim Keller, who was a director in Apple's mobile platform architecture group for the iPhone and iPad, had also joined AMD as chief architect of its microprocessor cores.

Also now at AMD is Wayne Meretsky, who heads the company's software development efforts. Meretsky and Keller are both former employees of PA Semi, an ARM chip design firm that Apple acquired in 2008 for $278 million.

Apple's acquisition of PA Semi played a crucial role in the company's development of its own custom silicon for devices like the iPhone and iPad. Those efforts have intensified over the years, as the A6 chip found in the iPhone 5 represents the first CPU core that was completely custom-designed by Apple.

AMD's interest in Apple's chipmaking talent comes as the company apparently plans to shake up its direction and develop new processor technology, according to Bloomberg's report published on Friday. AMD Chief Executive Rory Read reportedly hopes to differentiate his company's offerings from rival CPU maker Intel by focusing on new markets outside of PCs, such as smartphones and tablets.