Exclusive: Top execs explain Apple’s chip philosophy: ‘We are not a merchant silicon company, trying to leave nothing on the table’

Tim Millet, vice president of Platform Architecture (Hardware Technologies) at Apple, is clear about what differentiates the company’s silicon strategy and why it is able to outperform the competition continuously. “We are not a merchant silicon company. We do not build chips and sell them to other people. We do not make money that way. Folks who do make money that way have the burden of adding margin on top of whatever they buy,” he said.