JULY 23, 2005

Intel in play?

Intel, the giant semiconductor company, is currently a small sponsor on the Toyota F1 team but it seems that the California-based firm is looking seriously about a big deal with one of the top teams.

Intel was founded in 1968 by Gordon E. Moore and Robert Noyce, who had worked at Fairchild. Soon afterwards other Fairchild engineers set up Intel's biggest rival AMD, which is a sponsor of Ferrari.

The two companies are fighting over the microprocessor industry. The firm has recently announced a big new deal to supply its chips to Apple. AMD and Intel are in heavy competition. There has recently been a significant change at the top of Intel with Craig Barrett becoming chairman and Paul Otellini chief executive officer. The company has a market value of $154bn.