Exclusive Matthew Perry - no, not that one - can't seem to escape the idea of dealing a devastating blow to Intel. The former Transmeta CEO has landed at chip start-up Montalvo Systems, according to our sources, and is running the company.

As we reported (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/27/montalvo_processor/) in an exclusive last October, Montalvo has been hammering away on a low-power x86 processor. At first, industry watchers thought the chip would be aimed at mobile devices such as PDAs. Now, however, we've learned that the super-secretive Montalvo is most likely chasing the notebook market with what's described as a "high-end, low-power chip."

Montalvo has an impressive assortment of chip experts on board, including Greg Favor, an ex-AMD fellow and designer of the K6 processor, Peter Glaskowsky, former editor of the Microprocessor Report and a ton of former Transmeta staff. (Thanks to an SEC filing, we see that Vinod Dham, former CEO of Silicon Spice, which Broadcom acquired, serves as a director of Montalvo as well.)

The Montalvo name is thought to come from the popular Silicon Valley spot Villa Montalvo where Transmeta first launched.

Transmeta hoped to dent Intel and AMD's hold on the x86 chip market by creating a low-power processor that used sophisticated software to crank through instructions. Perry became Transmeta's CEO in 2002 and then left (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/01/transmeta_restructures/) the firm in April of 2005.

But, he didn't go far.

Transmeta's old offices sat at 3990 Freedom Circle in Santa Clara, wile Montalvo lists 3960 Freedom Circle as its home.

Perry did not return our call seeking comment.

Montalvo recently secured $74m in funding from New Enterprise Associates, Bay Partners, U.S. Venture Partners and original backer NewPath Ventures.

All those backers are sure to have thinned out the shares in Montalvo - bad news for employees hoping to get filthy rich.

We're impressed that Perry has the resolve to face the x86 market again and to do so with a similar pitch. Fighting Intel and AMD requires an incredible amount of capital, patience and luck. A strong notebook chip, however, could be of interest to AMD, which has struggled to replicate its server and desktop success in the mobile market. ®

Related stories

Transmeta streamlines 75 staff out the door (6 February 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/06/transmeta_layoffs/
Transmeta clocks another CEO (16 January 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/16/transmeta_crudele/
Transmeta accuses Intel of patent infringement (12 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/12/transmeta_sues_intel/
Is that a VMware CTO and Transmeta CEO at your start-up? (25 August 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/25/montalvo_nuova/
Chip start-up Montalvo looks to speed mobile devices (27 October 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/27/montalvo_processor/
Transmeta hails positive Q2 cash flow (11 July 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/11/transmeta_q2_cash-flow/
Transmeta narrows loss on cost cuts (16 May 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/16/transmeta_q1_fy05/
Transmeta replaces CEO amid major restructure (1 April 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/04/01/transmeta_restructures/
Transmeta to re-organise (30 March 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/30/transmeta_results_q4_fy04/
Once fabless, almost chipless - is Transmeta's future hopeless? (22 January 2005)
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2005/01/22/transmeta_strategy_update/
Transmeta may power down chip making biz (5 January 2005)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/05/transmeta_exiting_chips/
Transmeta sales grow as losses mount (23 July 2004)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/23/transmeta_q2/
Transmeta sales rise as Efficeon interest grows (16 April 2004)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/16/transmeta_q1_04/
Transmeta Q3 sales slump (16 October 2003)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/16/transmeta_q3_sales_slump/
Transmeta turns to Fujitsu for 90nm Efficeons (7 October 2003)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/07/transmeta_turns_to_fujitsu/
Transmeta wins deals, loses money in Q2 (18 July 2003)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07/18/transmeta_wins_deals_loses_money/
Transmeta touts the ultra personal computer (7 October 2002)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/10/07/transmeta_touts_the_ultra_personal/
Transmeta gets new CEO (12 April 2002)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/04/12/transmeta_gets_new_ceo/