From Stratēchery comes an insightful analysis of Intel:
Intel’s Identity Crisis, v1
Intel originally found success as a memory manufacturer. It’s 1103 chip was the first commercially available DRAM memory, and the DRAM business led massive growth throughout the 1970s.
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Intel was already the best microprocessor design company in the world. They just needed to accept and embrace their destiny.
Intel’s Identity Crisis, v2
Intel reaped the benefit of Grove’s repositioning for 25 years. Their chip designs were the foundation of the PC era, and while they faced nominal competition from AMD, they gained many of the economic benefits of a monopolist. But for a brief spell around the turn of the century, a “good” computer required an Intel chip, and they charged prices befitting their place in the PC value chain.
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Intel’s identity as a chip designer is increasingly irrelevant.
Read more at: The Intel Opportunity
