INTC Intel Corporation

By Don Clark 

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Brian Krzanich provided further details on how the company hopes to generate more revenue growth, describing five priorities for the chip maker as it reduces its dependence on the shrinking personal computer market.

Mr. Krzanich, in a blog post Tuesday following a major restructuring announced last week, stated that cloud computing is the most important trend that will shape the company's future. Intel, which already dominates sales of chips used in the data centers that deliver cloud services, will focus increasingly on technologies for analyzing data to help reinforce and expand its position, he said.

The company's strong position in data centers is a linchpin for much of the other efforts, Mr. Krzanich wrote. For example, in addressing another priority known as the Internet of Things -- Silicon Valley shorthand for adding calculating and communications capability to just about everything that is not a computer -- Intel's market position will be tied primarily to its ability to process the data generated by products such as connected lightbulbs, doorlocks and office and factory equipment.

"The key phrase here is 'connected to the cloud,'" Mr. Krzanich wrote. "It means that everything that a 'thing' does can be captured as a piece of data, measured real-time, and is accessible from anywhere."

Intel tends to focus on processors more complex and expensive than can be practically added to many products purchased for homes and businesses. Mr. Krzanich said the company plans to mainly focus on putting chips into autonomous vehicles and industrial and retail hardware, while characterizing PCs and mobile devices as "among the many variations of connected things."

Mr. Krzanich said Intel will continue to place a top priority on pushing Moore's Law, the pattern of miniaturization of chip circuitry identified by co-founder Gordon Moore in the 1960s that has governed Silicon Valley innovation. The company last year stated that it now expects to reduce transistor dimensions by the customary 50% about every 2 1/2 years, rather than two.

He has expressed confidence recently that the company can eventually get back on a two-year cadence, but he didn't specify a time frame in the blog post.

Another priority identified by Mr. Krzanich is memory chips, particularly variations of the flash technology found in most mobile devices. Intel is upgrading a factory in China to make those chips. It also announced a new technology in the field called 3D XPoint that was developed with help from Micron Technology Inc.

The fifth focus laid out in the blog post is connectivity in the form of wireless communications. Intel has largely failed to gain much of a foothold in chips for fourth-generation LTE networks. Mr. Krzanich vowed the company will play a major role in the transition to 5G technology, "from modems to base stations to all the various forms of connectivity that exist today and will exist tomorrow."

Intel last November recruited Venkata "Murthy" Renduchintala, a former executive vice president at rival Qualcomm Inc., to a top position that oversees both PC and mobile. Aicha Evans, a vice president in charge of wireless chips who had recently submitted her resignation, has now decided to stay with the company, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Mr. Krzanich's blog post follows the announcement last week that it will cut 12,000 jobs, or 11% from its workforce, to reduce costs and help free up money to invest in new areas. In documents filed with state officials, Intel this week disclosed that 784 employees will be laid off in Oregon, 565 in California and 560 in Arizona.

Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2016 15:48 ET (19:48 GMT)

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