As spotted by The Telegraph, Apple has posted several job openings at Apple’s “UK Design Centre” for roles in graphics unit design days after pulling the plug on Imagination Technologies.
Apple plans to stop using Imagination Technologies intellectual property within two years, ending its royalty payments. The tech giant is apparently working on its own custom graphics architecture to control more of the core technology, in the same way that it already architects custom CPU silicon designs,
Apple’s openings reveal around a dozen new opportunities for roles in designing and supporting the graphics architecture, the technology that Imagination currently licenses to Apple. The Telegraph notes that Imagination’s current employees are likely to be a key target. Profiles on the networking website LinkedIn reveal that at least 25 former Imagination staff have joined Apple in the last two years in San Francisco and London, including former chief operating officer, John Metcalfe.
