Intel (Photo : Reuters)
Intel Corp., the world’s prime chipmaking firm for personal computers and servers, was revealed to be pouring in billions of dollars for its expansion strategies in China where it has been struggling to secure a significant share in the mobile market.
Qualcomm Inc. is the current leader in the said Chinese market segment.
Intel is investing in boosting its influence to China as industry experts have previously stated that it could be too late for the firm to catch up in the U.S. or Europe. In the western states and countries, smartphones are already equipped with a rival chip inside.
Though targeting China's mobile user populace is also a huge goal, Intel has been trying to maximize its already-existing ties with computer clients in the country.
Intel is the one supplying Lenovo Group Ltd., the China-owned PC seller topping the computer market in the recent years. The firm also powers a number of Lenovo-branded smartphones.
Furthermore, the chipmaker is also fostering its partnership with Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. from which it has ventured on a joint research center. One Intel-Tencent project focuses on ensuring that WeChat, a popular instant messaging app, works well with Intel-produced chips.
In September last year, Intel paid a 9.4-billion-yuan ($1.5 billion) worth of share to Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd. which manages two local mobile chip makers.
In China, Xiaomi Corp. and Taiwan's MediaTek Inc. dominate the cheaper end of the mobile market.
Mark Hung, an analyst at Gartner, said that even if Intel makes it to the market's third highest post, the grab might still be probably meaningless.
For 2014, Intel was reported to have a 6-percent increase in revenue, and 1.3 billion yuan ($202 million) of its 350.8 billion yuan ($55.9 billion) worth is accounted to its mobile division.
