Intel reportedly extends lead in chip market to 15.6 percent share

In 2011 Intel managed to grab its highest share of the semiconductor market in a decade, according to market research firm IHS. Last year the company claimed 15.6 percent of the market — up from 13.1 percent in 2010 — reaching its highest total since 2001. As IHS points out, this increase was accompanied by Intel’s strong fourth quarter and full-year results, which saw an overall revenue jump of 20.6 percent in 2011. This was significantly higher than its closest competitor — Samsung maintained 9.2 percent market share, the same as in 2010, but only saw revenue grow by 0.6 percent, below the 1.3 percent market average. While Intel managed to increase its overall lead, the biggest growth came from Qualcomm. The chip manufacturer saw revenues grow 41.6 percent, which helped it jump to sixth overall in marketshare with 3.3 percent of the market. The impressive growth is likely due to Qualcomm’s aggressive push into the mobile space, including its Snapdragon system-on-a-chip and LTE-focused modem chipsets, examples of which are found in the new iPad.