Intel Stock Expenses on Microsoft report can create its own chips for Azure servers

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Actions of chip manufacturers

Intel

and Advanced Micro Devices were successful late Friday in a report that

Microsoft

is working on developing its own microprocessors for servers used in the Azure cloud service and possibly for its Surface personal computers.

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft is using models based on Arm technology to build a processor to be used in its data centers and that the company is also considering building another chip for Surface devices. Arm is owned by SoftBank (SFTBY), which has agreed to sell the business to

Nvidia

(NVDA).

The story notes that the move follows a similar effort

Amazon.com

(AMZN) and other companies with large server farms.

Apple

(AAPL) recently announced the first MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops with internally designed processors based on Arm technology.

“Because silicon is a key element in technology, we continue to invest in our own capabilities in areas such as design, production and tools, while encouraging and strengthening partnerships with a wide range of chip suppliers,” said a Microsoft spokesman. , Frank Shaw in a statement.

Neither Intel nor AMD responded immediately to a request for comment.

Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, noted that there was “fierce competition” in the cloud infrastructure market, adding that he would not be surprised by a move by Microsoft to catch up with Amazon Web Services. “Silicon is strategic, not a commodity, and the industry has finally woken up to this,” he added.

Intel was down 6.3% to $ 47.46 on Friday, while Advanced Micro Devices was down 1% to $ 95,952 after trading at $ 93.56. Shares of Microsoft fell 0.4% to $ 218.59.

Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]