The Cell concept was originally thought up by Sony Computer Entertainment inc. of Japan, for the PlayStation 3. The genesis of the idea was in 1999 when Sonys Ken Kutaragi [Kutaragi] Father of the PlayStation was thinking about a computer which acted like Cells in a biological system. A patent was applied for listing Masakazu Suzuoki and Takeshi Yamazaki as the inventors in 2002.
The architecture as it exists today was the work of three companies: Sony, Toshiba and IBM. Sony and Toshiba previously co-operated on the PlayStation 2 but this time the plan was more ambitious and went beyond chips for video games consoles. The aim was to build a new general purpose processor for a computer. With that in mind IBM was brought in as their expertise is in computer design.
Though sold as a game console, what will in fact enter the home is a Cell-based computer. - Ken Kutaragi
IBM also brought its chip design expertise and in this case used a very aggressive approach by producing a fully custom design - the chips circuitry was designed by hand instead of with automated tools, very few other companies use this approach. IBM also has the industry's leading silicon process which will be used in the manufacturing. Sony and Toshiba bring mass manufacturing capabilities and knowledge.
Each of the three companies produces different products and these have different needs of a CPU. Consumer electronics requires very power efficient systems, reliability and predictability. Computer systems on the other hand (sometimes) have multiple processors, and need to be compatible across different generations. The final Cell design incorporates features to satisfy all these needs.
To turn the ideas into a real product the the companies officially partnered in 2000 and set up a design centre in Austin, Texas in March 2001 with engineers from each of the three companies. Development was done in 10 centres around the globe by some 400 people.
The amount of money subsequently spent on this project is vast, two 65nm chip fabrication facilities are being built at billions each, Sony has paid IBM hundreds of millions to set up a production line in East Fishkill, New York. Then there's a few hundred million on development - all before a single chip rolls of the production lines.
Although its been primarily touted as the technology for the PlayStation 3, Cell is designed for much more. Sony and Toshiba, both being major electronics manufacturers buy in all manner of different components. One of the reasons for Cell's development is they want to save costs by building their own components. Next generation consumer technologies such as Blu-ray, HDTV, HD Camcorders and of course the PS3 will all require a very high level of computing power and they are going to need the chips to provide it. Cell will be used for all of these and more, IBM will also be using the chips in servers. The partners can also sell the chips to 3rd party manufacturers [3rd party] .
The Cell architecture is like nothing we have ever seen in commodity microprocessors, it is closer in design to multiprocessor vector supercomputers. The Cell developers have taken this kind of technology and for the first time are bringing it to your home. The aim is produce a low cost system with a massive increase in compute performance over existing systems. Putting such an architecture on a single chip is a huge, complex project, no other manufacturer appears to have even attempted to do anything this ambitious to date.