We are the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. We develop advanced integrated digital technology products, primarily integrated circuits, for industries such as computing and communications. Integrated circuits are semiconductor chips etched with interconnected electronic switches. We also develop platforms, which we define as integrated suites of digital computing technologies that are designed and configured to work together to provide an optimized user computing solution compared to components that are used separately. Our goal is to be the preeminent provider of semiconductor chips and platforms for the worldwide digital economy.
We were incorporated in California in 1968 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1989. Our Internet address is www.intel.com. On this web site, we publish voluntary reports, which we update annually, outlining our performance with respect to corporate responsibility, including environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance.
Company Organization
At the end of 2009, we reorganized our business to better align our major product groups around the core competencies of Intel® architecture and our manufacturing operations. After the reorganization, we have nine operating segments:
• PC Client Group. Delivering a high-quality computing and Internet experience through Intel architecture-based products and platforms, primarily for notebooks, netbooks, and desktops.
• Data Center Group. Delivering server, storage, and workstation platforms for small, medium, and large enterprises.
• Embedded and Communications Group. Delivering Intel architecture-based products as solutions for embedded applications through long life-cycle support, software and architectural scalability, and platform integration.
• Digital Home Group. Delivering Intel architecture-based products for next-generation consumer electronics devices with interactive Internet content and traditional broadcast programming.
• Ultra-Mobility Group. Building a business in the next-generation handheld market segment with low-power Intel architecture-based products.
• NAND Solutions Group. Delivering advanced NAND flash memory products for use in a variety of devices.
• Wind River Software Group. A wholly owned subsidiary delivering device software optimization products to the embedded and handheld market segments, serving a variety of hardware architectures.
• Software and Services Group. Delivering software products and services, in addition to promoting Intel architecture as the platform of choice for software development.
• Digital Health Group. Delivering technology-enabled products that are designed to reduce healthcare costs and connect people and information to improve patient care and safety.
We design and manufacture computing and communications components, such as microprocessors, chipsets, motherboards, and wireless and wired connectivity products, as well as platforms that incorporate these components. We strive to optimize the overall performance improvements of our products by balancing increased performance capabilities with improved energy efficiency. Increased performance can include faster processing performance and other improved capabilities, such as multithreading and multitasking. Performance can also be improved through enhanced connectivity, storage, security, manageability, utilization, reliability, ease of use, and interoperability among devices. Improved energy efficiency is achieved by lowering power consumption in relation to performance capabilities, which may extend utilization time for battery-powered form factors and reduce system heat output, thereby providing power savings and reducing the total cost of ownership.
We offer products at various levels of integration, to allow our customers flexibility in creating computing and communications systems. The substantial majority of our revenue is from the sale of microprocessors and chipsets.
Components
Microprocessors
A microprocessor—the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer system—processes system data and controls other devices in the system, acting as the “brains” of the computer. We offer microprocessors with one or multiple processor cores designed for notebooks, netbooks, desktops, servers, workstations, storage products, embedded applications, communications products, consumer electronics devices, and handhelds. The following are characteristics of our microprocessors:
• Multi-core microprocessors contain two or more processor cores, which can enable improved multitasking and energy-efficient performance by distributing computing tasks across multiple cores.
• Cache is memory that can be located directly on the microprocessor. Incorporating additional amounts and/or levels of cache can enable higher performance by permitting quicker access to frequently used data and instructions.
• Some of our microprocessors also include an integrated memory controller or an integrated memory controller and integrated graphics functionality. Both an integrated memory controller and integrated graphics functionality can increase the speed at which data is transferred between system components.
Most of our microprocessors are based on the latest generation Intel® Coretm microarchitecture and are manufactured using our 45-nanometer (nm) Hi-k metal gate silicon process technology (45nm process technology) or our 32nm second-generation Hi-k metal gate silicon process technology (32nm process technology). These technologies are the first to use Hi-k metal gate transistors, which increase performance while simultaneously reducing the leakage of currents. Microarchitecture refers to the layout, density, and logical design of a microprocessor. The latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture incorporates features designed to increase performance and energy efficiency, such as:
• Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, which increases processor frequency when applications demand more performance; and
• Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows each processor core to process two software tasks or threads simultaneously.
We also offer, and are continuing to develop, System on Chip (SoC) products that integrate our core processing functionalities with other system components, such as graphics, audio, and video, onto a single chip to form a purpose-built solution. SoC products are designed to provide improved performance due to higher integration, lower power consumption, and smaller form factors.
Chipsets
The chipset operates as the “nervous system” in a PC or other computing device, sending data between the microprocessor and input, display, and storage devices, such as the keyboard, mouse, monitor, hard drive or solid-state drive, and CD, DVD, or Blu-ray* drive. We offer chipsets designed for notebooks, netbooks, desktops, servers, workstations, storage products, embedded applications, communications products, consumer electronics devices, and handhelds. Chipsets extend the audio, video, and other capabilities of many systems and perform essential logic functions, such as balancing the performance of the system and removing bottlenecks. Some chipsets may also include graphics functionality or graphics functionality and a memory controller, for use with our microprocessors that do not integrate those system components.
Motherboards
We offer motherboard products designed for our desktop, server, and workstation platforms. A motherboard is the principal board within a system, and typically contains the microprocessor, chipset, memory, and other components. The motherboard also has connectors for attaching devices to the bus, which is the subsystem that transfers data between various components of a computer.
Wireless and Wired Connectivity
We offer wireless and wired connectivity products, including network adapters and embedded wireless cards, based on industry-standard protocols used to translate and transmit data across networks. Wireless connectivity products based on WiFi technology allow users to wirelessly connect to high-speed local area networks, typically within a close range. We have also developed wireless connectivity products for both mobile and fixed networks based on WiMAX, a standards-based wireless technology providing high-speed broadband connectivity that can link users and networks up to several miles apart.
Platforms
A platform typically includes a microprocessor, chipset, and enabling software, and may include additional hardware, services, and support. In developing our platforms, we may include components made by other companies. Platforms based on our latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture using our 32nm process technology integrate a memory controller and graphics functionality into each microprocessor, and connect the microprocessor and other components with a high-speed interconnect. We refer to certain platform brands within our product offerings as processor technologies.
Microprocessor and Platform Technologies
We offer features to improve microprocessor and platform capabilities that can enhance system performance and user experience. For example, we offer technologies that can help information technology managers maintain, manage, and protect enabled systems that are plugged into a power source and connected to a network, even if a computer is turned off or has a failed hard drive or operating system. Additional features can enable virtualization, in which a single computer system can function as multiple virtual systems by running multiple operating systems and applications. Virtualization can consolidate workloads and provide increased security and management capabilities. To take advantage of these and other features that we offer, a computer system must have a microprocessor that supports a chipset and BIOS (basic input/output system) that use the technology, and software that is optimized for the technology. Performance will vary depending on the system hardware and software used.
Additional Product Offerings
NAND flash memory is a specialized type of memory component primarily used in portable memory storage devices, digital camera memory cards, solid-state drives, and other devices. NAND flash memory retains information even when the power is off, and provides faster access to data than traditional hard drives. Because flash memory does not have any moving parts, it tolerates bumps and shocks better than devices such as rapidly spinning disk drives.
Network processors are advanced, fully programmable processors used in networking equipment to rapidly manage and direct data moving across networks and the Internet.
Software products include operating systems, middleware, and tools used to develop, run, and manage a wide variety of enterprise, consumer, embedded, and handheld devices. In addition, we offer software development tools, designed to complement our latest hardware technologies, that help enable the creation of applications.
Healthcare products are technology-enabled devices for healthcare providers and personal healthcare that are designed to connect people and information to improve patient care and safety.
PC Client Group
The PC Client Group (PCCG) offers microprocessors and related chipsets designed for the notebook, netbook, and desktop market segments. In addition, PCCG offers motherboards designed for the desktop market segment, and wireless connectivity products.
Notebooks and Netbooks
Our current notebook and netbook microprocessor offerings include the:
• Intel® Coretm i7 processor Extreme Edition
• Intel® Coretm2 Duo mobile processor
• Intel® Coretm i7 mobile processor
• Intel® Coretm2 Solo processor
• Intel® Coretm i5 mobile processor
• Intel® Celeron® D processor
• Intel® Coretm i3 mobile processor
• Intel® Celeron® M processor
• Intel® Coretm2 Extreme mobile processor
• Intel® Celeron® processor
• Intel® Coretm2 Quad mobile processor
• Intel® Atomtm processor
We offer microprocessors for notebooks at a variety of price and performance points, from the Intel Core i7 processor Extreme Edition—a quad-core processor based on our latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture designed for processor-intensive tasks in demanding multitasking environments—to the Intel Celeron processor, designed to provide value, quality, and reliability for basic computing needs. In addition, we offer the Intel Atom processor, designed for netbooks. We offer these processors in various packaging options, including ultra-low-voltage processors designed for ultra-thin laptop computers, giving our customers flexibility for a wide range of system designs for notebook PCs. The related chipsets for our notebook and netbook microprocessor offerings primarily include Mobile Intel® 5 Series Express Chipsets, Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipsets, Mobile Intel® 900 Series Express Chipsets, and the Intel® NM10 Express Chipset. In addition, we offer wireless connectivity products based on WiFi and WiMAX technologies.
We also offer processor technologies designed to provide high performance with improved multitasking; and power-saving features to improve battery life, wireless network connectivity, and boot times, and to enable smaller form factors. The Intel® Coretm i5 vProtm processor and the Intel® Coretm i7 vProtm processor are designed to provide business notebook PCs with increased security, manageability, upgradeability, and energy-efficient performance.
Our new product offerings in 2009 and early 2010 include:
• Intel Core i7 mobile processors, Intel Core i5 mobile processors, and Intel Core i3 mobile processors, the latest of which are manufactured using our 32nm process technology and include integrated high-definition graphics functionality. These processors are supported by the new Mobile Intel 5 Series Express Chipset family.
• Intel® Centrino® Wireless adapters, designed to offer high-speed and reliable connectivity, and consistent coverage, while consuming minimal power.
• An Intel Atom processor with integrated graphics functionality designed to enable improved performance and smaller, more energy-efficient netbooks. This processor is supported by the new, low-power Intel NM10 Express Chipset.
• The Intel Core i7 processor Extreme Edition, based on our latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture, and designed for demanding applications such as high-performance gaming, high-definition content creation, and video encoding and editing.
• Ultra-low-voltage processors and a chipset designed for ultra-thin laptop computers.
Desktops
Our current desktop microprocessor offerings include the:
• Intel® Coretm i7 processor Extreme Edition
• Intel® Coretm2 Quad processor
• Intel® Coretm i7 processor
• Intel® Coretm2 Duo processor
• Intel® Coretm i5 processor
• Intel® Pentium® processor
• Intel® Coretm i3 processor
• Intel® Celeron® processor
• Intel® Coretm2 Extreme processor
• Intel® Atomtm processor
We offer desktop microprocessors at a variety of price/performance points, from the high-end Intel Core i7 processor Extreme Edition—a quad-core processor based on our latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture, designed for processor-intensive tasks in demanding multitasking environments—to the Intel Celeron processor, designed to provide value, quality, and reliability for basic computing needs. In addition, we offer the Intel Atom processor, designed for low-power and affordable Internet-focused devices. The related chipsets for our desktop microprocessor offerings primarily include Intel® 5 Series Express Chipsets, Intel® 4 Series Express Chipsets, Intel® 3 Series Express Chipsets, and the Intel® NM10 Express Chipset.
We also offer processor technologies based on our microprocessors, chipsets, and motherboard products that are optimized for the desktop market segment. For business desktop PCs, we offer the Intel® Coretm2 Duo processor with vProtm technology, the Intel® Coretm2 Quad processor with vProtm technology, the Intel® Coretm i5 vProtm processor, and the Intel® Coretm i7 vProtm processor, which are designed to provide manageability, upgradeability, energy-efficient performance, increased security, and lower cost of ownership.
Our new product offerings in 2009 and early 2010 include:
• Intel Core i7 processors, Intel Core i5 processors, and Intel Core i3 processors, the latest of which are manufactured using our 32nm process technology and include integrated high-definition graphics functionality. These processors are supported by the new Intel 5 Series Express Chipset family.
• An Intel Atom processor with integrated graphics functionality designed to enable improved performance and smaller, more energy-efficient entry-level desktops. This processor is supported by the new, low-power Intel NM10 Express Chipset.
Data Center Group
The Data Center Group (DCG) offers products that are incorporated into servers, storage, workstations, and other products that help make up the infrastructure for data center and cloud computing environments. DCG’s products include microprocessors and related chipsets, and motherboards and wired connectivity devices.
Our current server, workstation, and storage microprocessor offerings include the Intel® Xeon® processor and the Intel® Itanium® processor. Our Intel Xeon processor family of products supports a range of entry-level to high-end technical and commercial computing applications such as Internet Protocol data centers. Compared to our Intel Xeon processor family, our Intel Itanium processor family generally supports an even higher level of reliability and computing performance for data processing, handling high transaction volumes, and other compute-intensive applications for enterprise-class servers, as well as supercomputing solutions. Servers, which usually have multiple microprocessors or cores working together, manage large amounts of data, direct data traffic, perform complex transactions, and control central functions in local and wide area networks and on the Internet. Workstations typically offer higher performance than standard desktop PCs and are used for applications such as engineering design, digital content creation, and high-performance computing. With the large growth in digital content, external storage systems, such as storage area network (SAN) and network-attached storage (NAS), require higher bandwidth and improved processing performance.
Our new product offerings in 2009 and early 2010 include:
• Quad-core Intel Itanium processors with enhanced scalability and reliability features, designed for mission-critical computing.
• Dual- and quad-core Intel Xeon processors based on our latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture, including multiple quad-core Intel Xeon processors designed for use in entry-level servers for small businesses and educational settings.
• Server motherboards that offer a higher degree of integrated components.
Other Intel Architecture Operating Segments
Embedded and Communications Group
The Embedded and Communications Group (ECG) offers highly scalable microprocessors, including Intel Atom processors, and chipsets for a growing number of embedded applications across numerous market segments, including industrial, medical, and in-vehicle infotainment. In addition, ECG offers network processors.
Our new product offerings in 2009 and early 2010 include:
• Embedded Intel Core i7 processors, Intel Core i5 processors, and Intel Core i3 processors, all using our 32nm process technology and with integrated high-definition graphics functionality. These processors are supported by the new Mobile Intel 5 Series Express Chipset family.
• Low-power Intel Xeon processors based on our latest generation Intel Core microarchitecture, designed for use in thermally constrained environments common to communications infrastructure products such as wireline phones and fax machines.
• Intel Atom processors designed for in-vehicle infotainment systems, media phones, and other industrial applications.
Ultra-Mobility Group
The Ultra-Mobility Group offers energy-efficient Intel Atom processors and related chipsets designed for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) within the handheld market segment.
Digital Home Group
The Digital Home Group offers products for use in consumer electronics devices designed to access and share Internet, broadcast, optical media (CD, DVD, or Blu-ray), and personal content through a variety of linked digital devices within the home. In addition, we offer components for consumer electronics devices such as digital TVs, high-definition media players, and set-top boxes, which receive, decode, and convert incoming data signals. In 2009, we introduced the Intel® Atomtm processor CE4100, a SoC media processor designed to bring Internet content and services to digital televisions, DVD players, and advanced set-top boxes.
Other Operating Segments
NAND Solutions Group
The NAND Solutions Group offers NAND flash memory products primarily used in portable memory storage devices, digital camera memory cards, solid-state drives, and other devices. Our solid-state drives, available in densities ranging from 2 gigabytes (GB) to 160 GB, weigh less than standard hard disk drives and are designed to enable faster boot times, lower power consumption, increased reliability, and improved performance. Our NAND flash memory products are manufactured by IM Flash Technologies, LLC (IMFT). See “Note 11: Non-Marketable Equity Investments” in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. In 2009, we introduced 80-GB and 160-GB solid-state drives based on 34nm NAND flash technology, designed for laptop and desktop computers.
Wind River Software Group
The Wind River Software Group develops and licenses device software optimization products, including operating systems, for the needs of customers in the embedded and handheld market segments.
Manufacturing and Assembly and Test
As of December 26, 2009, 64% of our wafer fabrication, including microprocessors and chipsets, was conducted within the U.S. at our facilities in Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. The remaining 36% of our wafer fabrication was conducted outside the U.S. at our facilities in Ireland and Israel.
In addition to our current facilities, we are building a 300mm wafer fabrication facility in China that is expected to begin production on chipsets using our 65nm process technology in late 2010 or early 2011.
As of December 26, 2009, the substantial majority of our microprocessors were manufactured on 300mm wafers using our 45nm process technology. In the second half of 2009, we began manufacturing microprocessors using our 32nm process technology. As we move to each succeeding generation of manufacturing process technology, we incur significant start-up costs to prepare each factory for manufacturing. However, continuing to advance our process technology provides benefits that we believe justify these costs. The benefits of moving to each succeeding generation of manufacturing process technology can include using less space per transistor, reducing heat output from each transistor, and/or increasing the number of integrated features on each chip. These advancements can result in microprocessors that are higher performing, consume less power, and/or cost less to manufacture.
We use third-party manufacturing companies (foundries) to manufacture wafers for certain components, including networking and communications products. In addition, we primarily use subcontractors to manufacture board-level products and systems, and purchase certain communications networking products from external vendors in the Asia-Pacific region.
Our NAND flash memory products are manufactured by IMFT, a NAND flash memory manufacturing company that we formed with Micron Technology, Inc. Our NAND flash memory products are manufactured by IMFT using 34nm or 50nm process technology, and we expect to offer NAND flash memory products using 25nm process technology during the second quarter of 2010. We purchase 49% of the manufactured output of IMFT as of December 26, 2009. Assembly and test of NAND flash memory products is performed by Micron and other external subcontractors. See “Note 11: Non-Marketable Equity Investments” in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.
During 2008, we completed the divestiture of our NOR flash memory business in exchange for an ownership interest in Numonyx B.V. We are leasing a wafer fabrication facility located in Israel to Numonyx. That facility is not shown in our above listing of wafer fabrication facilities.
Following the manufacturing process, the majority of our components are subject to assembly and test. We perform our components assembly and test at facilities in Malaysia, China, and Costa Rica. We are building a new assembly and test facility in Vietnam that is expected to begin production in the second half of 2010. To augment capacity, we use subcontractors to perform assembly of certain products, primarily chipsets and networking and communications products.
Our employment practices are consistent with, and we expect our suppliers and subcontractors to abide by, local country law. In addition, we impose a minimum employee age requirement as well as progressive EHS requirements, regardless of local law.
We have thousands of suppliers, including subcontractors, providing our various materials and service needs. We set expectations for supplier performance and reinforce those expectations with periodic assessments. We communicate those expectations to our suppliers regularly and work with them to implement improvements when necessary. We seek, where possible, to have several sources of supply for all of these materials and resources, but we may rely on a single or limited number of suppliers, or upon suppliers in a single country. In those cases, we develop and implement plans and actions to reduce the exposure that would result from a disruption in supply. We have entered into long-term contracts with certain suppliers to ensure a portion of our silicon supply.
Our products are typically produced at multiple Intel facilities at various sites around the world, or by subcontractors who have multiple facilities. However, some products are produced in only one Intel or subcontractor facility, and we seek to implement actions and plans to reduce the exposure that would result from a disruption at any such facility. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Research and Development
We are committed to investing in world-class technology development, particularly in the design and manufacture of integrated circuits. Research and development (R&D) expenditures in 2009 were $5.7 billion ($5.7 billion in 2008 and $5.8 billion in 2007).
Our R&D activities are directed toward developing the technology innovations that we believe will deliver our next generation of products and platforms, which will in turn enable new form factors and new usage models for businesses and consumers. Our R&D activities range from designing and developing products, to developing and refining manufacturing processes, to researching future technologies and products.
We are focusing our R&D efforts on advanced computing technologies, developing new microarchitectures, advancing our silicon manufacturing process technology, delivering the next generation of microprocessors and chipsets, improving our platform initiatives, and developing software solutions and tools to support our technologies. Our R&D efforts enable new levels of performance and address areas such as energy efficiency, scalability for multi-core architectures, system manageability and security, and ease of use. We continue to make significant R&D investments in the development of SoCs to enable growth in areas such as handhelds (including MIDs and smartphones), embedded applications, and consumer electronics. In addition, we continue to make significant investments in graphics and wireless technologies.
As part of our R&D efforts, we plan to introduce a new microarchitecture for our notebook, desktop, and Intel Xeon processors approximately every two years and ramp the next generation of silicon process technology in the intervening years. We refer to this as our “tick-tock” technology development cadence. In 2009, we started manufacturing microprocessors using our new 32nm second-generation Hi-k metal gate silicon process technology, and we expect to introduce a new microarchitecture using our 32nm process technology in 2010. We are currently developing 22nm process technology, our next-generation process technology, and expect to begin manufacturing products using that technology in 2011. Our leadership in silicon technology has enabled us to make “Moore’s Law” a reality. Moore’s Law predicted that transistor density on integrated circuits would double about every two years. Our leadership in silicon technology has also helped expand on the advances anticipated by Moore’s Law by bringing new capabilities into silicon and producing new products and platforms optimized for a wider variety of applications.
Our R&D model is based on a global organization that emphasizes a collaborative approach to identifying and developing new technologies, leading standards initiatives, and influencing regulatory policies to accelerate the adoption of new technologies. Our R&D initiatives are performed by various business groups within the company, and we centrally manage key cross-business group product initiatives to align and prioritize our R&D activities across these groups. In addition, we may augment our R&D initiatives by investing in companies or entering into agreements with companies that have similar R&D focus areas. For example, we have an agreement with Micron for joint development of NAND flash memory technologies.
Employees
As of December 26, 2009, we had 79,800 employees worldwide, with 55% of those employees located in the U.S.