Russian engineers stake claim for fastest chip

BANGALORE: Russian computer engineers say they have developed a microprocessor that beats anything in the West.

The engineers, who developed computers operating Soviet missile defenses, say their E2K chip runs faster than a chip in development by Intel and could roll off assembly lines in three years if they can get funding. But the Russian team, Elbrus International, has not made an E2K chip yet, but only designed and run simulations. Elbrus engineers say their chip, based on ones developed by the same team for the Soviet Union's military, will be fast and cheap, though a factory might cost well over a billion dollars to build. British investment bank Robert Flemings is looking to attract at least the $60 million needed to finish engineering and develop prototype chips. So far the Elbrus team has used its own money from other work to develop the chip.

"Ideally you would expect the deal to crystallize somewhere in the middle of next year," said investment banking at Flemings's Moscow unit, Fleming UCB associate director Vladimir Zamai. The E2K is based on a type of parallel processing which breaks down tasks, a method widely used in Soviet defense computers.