Apple gets ex-ATI console GPU lead Bob Drebin

According to his LinkedIn profile page, former Chief Technology Officer of AMD’s Graphics Products Group Bob Drebin has joined Apple as a Senior Director. Previously a key member of the architecture and engineering team at ArtX, the company responsible for the Nintendo GameCube’s graphics processor, Drebin came to AMD through its acquisition of ATI, which acquired ArtX and used its expertise to develop the graphics processor for Nintendo’s Wii. Drebin was previously a chief engineer at Silicon Graphics, and a computer R&D tech for Pixar. Drebin’s hiring is the latest in a series of moves by Apple that suggest the company will develop its own chips for the iPhone and iPod. The company first purchased chipmaker P.A. Semi in April 2008, later confirming that the company was purchased with plans to “do system-on-chips for iPhones and iPods.” It then hired former IBM executive Mark Papermaster in November to lead the company’s iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams, and made a significant investment in mobile GPU maker Imagination Technologies in December. Imagination makes the PowerVR MBX chip used in current iPhone hardware. [via The Inquirer]