IBM’s decision to get out of the semiconductor manufacturing business may be of little consequence in a post-silicon world.

In a deal announced today, GlobalFoundries is getting IBM’s semiconductor manufacturing business and IBM is paying the company $1.5 billion to take it. In exchange, IBM gets access to manufacturing scale it does not have.

IBM’s latest weak quarter, also announced Monday, clouds the manufacturing exit. CEO Ginni Rometty all but apologized for the slack earnings. But that doesn’t change the fact that silicon is reaching its performance limits and there’s no clear replacement.

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