The HSA Foundation is led by AMD, which in February announced an HSA strategy to bring software development tools so coders can write portable applications for multicore chips. AMD that month also fundamentally changed the way it develops chips, allowing for the integration of third-party intellectual property so customized chips can be designed to specific customer needs.

AMD is partnering with companies like ARM and Texas Instruments, which have a lot of intellectual property, McCarron said. There's nothing that precludes Intel from joining HSA Foundation, but Intel wants to differentiate with its intellectual property, McCarron said. Intel can also afford to go alone as it controls manufacturing of chips and has its own embedded software development team.