Intel loses market share in server chips but makes gains in PC

[SAN FRANCISCO] Intel, working to regain its edge in processor technology, lost more ground to rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in the lucrative server-chip industry during the fourth quarter but took back some market share in personal computers.

Altogether, AMD reached a record high of 25.6 per cent share in processors in the period, including custom chips for game consoles and semiconductors for the so-called Internet of Things, according to Mercury Research. That surpassed a previous high of 25.3 per cent set in 2006.

Intel chips still account for most of the market, but the company doesn't have the technological supremacy that it once held. That's led customers to seek alternatives, whether it's AMD processors or chips of their own design. Intel chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has promised to reverse gains made by AMD with new products that will outperform its longtime rival.

But the PC chip market has been booming, which is good news for both Intel and AMD. Revenue from their types of chips surged 11 per cent to US$74 billion in 2021, Mercury found. Chips made using Arm's technology also grew, bringing the total industry to 500 million units in 2021.

AMD enjoyed strong demand for game consoles made by Sony and Microsoft, a market it dominates. Its share of the server segment rose to 10.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, up 3.6 percentage points from a year earlier. Intel once controlled more than 99 per cent of the industry.

In desktop PCs, Intel's share of the market rose to 83.8 per cent. It was 78.4 per cent in laptops.

Arm-based chips, meanwhile, were once a tiny niche of the PC processor market. But Apple switched its Mac line over to that type of semiconductor, giving the category a boost. The market share of such chips nearly tripled from a year earlier to 9.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. BLOOMBERG