Tech heavyweights IBM, Toshiba, and Sony Computer Entertainment are joining forces to develop computer chips that they say will bring supercomputing power to consumer devices. The companies say that during the next five years they will jointly invest more than $400 million in the project, code-named Cell.

Among other things, chips based on the new architecture will use components that are smaller than 0.10 microns, or 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. By comparison, Intel's smallest chips today use 0.18-micron technology. IBM says the result will be consumer devices that are more powerful than its own Deep Blue, one of the largest supercomputers in the world.

The companies plan to deploy chips based on the research in a wide variety of consumer devices, including those geared toward receiving broadband audio and video. "The processor platform that people have only been able to imagine is now going to become a reality," Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, said in a statement.

Analysts say the deal indicates that technology vendors believe that much of the demand for computer chips will be driven by specialized entertainment devices rather than general-purpose PCs. "When you see the entertainment side of Sony investing in a deal like this, you can well assume that they are trying to influence what the platform of choice is going to look like very early in the cycle," says Linley Gwennap, principal analyst at the Linley Group. Last week, Intel cited continued sluggishness in the PC market when it said it will miss first-quarter revenue estimates and cut staff by 5,000 during the next nine months.

Under Monday's agreement, Sony, IBM, and Toshiba will establish a joint development center within an IBM facility in Austin, Texas. Plans call for the center to eventually employ a staff of nearly 300 computer architects and chip designers dedicated to the project.