Samsung Surpasses Intel To Become the World's Largest Chipmaker (bloomberg.com)

Samsung Electronics just knocked Intel off its perch as the world's biggest chipmaker by revenue, a spot the U.S. company has held since 1992. From a report: On Tuesday, Samsung reported 2017 chip sales of $69 billion, blowing past Intel's $63 billion from last year. The switch underlines how Samsung has transformed itself from a maker of cheap televisions into a pervasive supplier of key components in smartphones and other modern computing devices. It's also a testament to the growth of memory chips, Samsung's main market.

Intel, whose processors are the heart of about 90 percent of the world's computers, didn't have a bad year. Sales grew 6 percent. Success in computers is no longer enough, though. Memory chips, a market Intel only recently got back into, are now crucial parts of smartphones, which easily outsell PCs these days. Memory chips are also finding their way into a range of new devices such as cars. One of the ironies of Samsungâ(TM)s success in memory is that itâ(TM)s a business Intel created in the 1960s.

Comments

Memory chips

[PCM2]

Everybody's talking Intel vs ARM, etc., but TFS clearly says Samsung's major market is not processors, but memory chips (which I assume includes various forms of flash). The market for these things is huge, yet they are essentially commodity components. The volume of proprietary IP in a single Intel processor is vast compared to what Samsung produces. Even Samsung's processors use technology licensed from ARM. I don't think Intel is quaking in its boots just yet. The idea that Korean chaebols are huge, supply the world with manufactured goods, and make a lotta money is not new.