Article Hero

Microsoft designs its own chips

1608556076.jpg
Miguel A. Rodriguez
Miguel A. Rodriguez
21 December 2020
The Redmond-based company is moving away from Intel as it creates its own processors

After a few months ago, Apple announced that it would make its own processors starting this year, now, it's Microsoft's turn to do so.

Microsoft, which currently uses Intel-based processors, announced that it is designing its processors for servers, including those of Azure cloud services and Surface devices. Now, Microsoft works with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm for its custom chips, but it shows a willingness to move away from just Intel as its primary processor maker.

The idea of having its own "first party" processor was first touted earlier in December by Judson Althoff, Microsoft's executive vice president of worldwide commercial business. At the UBS Global, Technology, Media and Telecommunications conference, he stated, "the partnerships that we have though in this realm, from the OpenAI efforts that we have to our relationship with Intel and Arm developments that we have certainly point to the need to have advanced capabilities here, whether we build it first-party or have an ecosystem of third-party partners, it's sort of yet to be disclosed."

 According to specialists, Microsoft's decision could have been influenced by the fact that Intel had some challenges in manufacturing its chips in recent years. Still, for the quarter ended in September, Intel reported revenues of $9.85 billion from its PC chips business.

Following the news, Intel stock price fell 6.3%.

Sources: theverge.com, cnbc.com

This information/research prepared by Miguel A. Rodriguez does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any particular person. The research analyst primarily responsible for the content of this research report, in part or in whole, certifies that the views about the companies and their securities expressed in this report accurately reflect his/her personal views and consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk.The research provided does not constitute the views of KW Investments Ltd nor is it an invitation to invest with KW Investments Ltd. The research analyst also certifies that no part of his/her compensation was, is, or will be, directly, or indirectly, related to specific recommendations or views expressed in this report.The research analyst in not employed by KW Investments Ltd. You are encouraged to seek advice from an independent financial adviser regarding the suitability of the investment, under a separate engagement, as you deem fit that conforms to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, or particular financial needs before making a commitment to invest. The laws of the Republic of Seychelles shall govern any claim relating to or arising from the contents of the information/ research provided. 

Share this article

How did you find this article?

Awful
Ok
Great
Awesome

Read More

Miguel A. Rodriguez
Miguel A. Rodriguez
Financial Writer

Miguel worked for major financial institutions such as Banco Santander, and Banco Central-Hispano. He is a published author of currency trading books.