Rise of the Centaur

This documentary tells the story of Centaur Technology, a scrappy CPU design company based in Austin, Texas.

Synopsis: “We’re four guys working out of our kitchens, and we want $10,000,000 and to be left alone for two years. Then, trust me, we’ll deliver a low-cost microprocessor compatible with Intel”.

This was former IBM Fellow and Dell Senior VP Glenn Henry’s 1995 pitch to start a microprocessor company focused on low-cost Intel-compatible processors (“x86”). This improbable start led to the twenty years (and counting) success story of Centaur Technology, a small Austin company focused on low-cost x86 processors.

Over this period, the company has retained its small and scrappy start-up mentality. Fifteen major Centaur x86 microprocessor designs have shipped to customers world-wide in systems offered by Samsung, Lenovo, HP, Dell and many others. Over this period, many other companies have tried to design x86 processors and have failed.

This documentary follows Henry and his team as they race to complete their latest chip, and offers an inside perspective of Centaur’s unique management environment and the engineers who make it all possible.