Intel’s Fall from Grace

Abstract

Intel continues to dominate the microprocessor market for personal computers and datacenter servers for cloud services but it has fallen sharply behind Nvidia, the new platform leader for AI applications and GPU servers. Intel's decline has two main causes, apart from the innovations at Nvidia. One involves the inability to adapt to new technologies and customers (i.e., mobile and AI) as they emerged. A second involves the commitment to manufacture its own microprocessors even though advanced semiconductor manufacturing, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC), has evolved into a highly specialized capability, separable from design.