Google’s reported chip plans could hurt Intel

Another potential cloud has appeared on the horizon for Intel and its server-chip business as Google is reportedly considering making its own server chips, using a design from British firm ARM Holdings.

Intel Corp. (INTC)’s dominance in semiconductors is already threatened by the market’s shift to mobile devices. Google Inc. is poised to make matters worse. Google is considering designing its own server processors using technology from ARM Holdings Plc (ARM), said a person with knowledge of the matter. That potentially signifies at least a partial move away from Intel, which controls more than 95 percent of the market for chips in servers that use personal-computer processors.