http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/19/qualcomm_to_make_server_chips/
What do you think? It's really looking like Qualcomm is fast replacing AMD as Intel's most dangerous competitor. Not only is Intel flopping and bleeding cash on Qualcomm's mobile turf, Qualcomm might soon take the fight to Intel by invading server space.
This was known since 2010 when the first investments in ARM as a server platform occurred in 2010. In 2012, Intel flat out stated that Qualcomm is the person they see as their rival not AMD.
This is not saying ARM is going to succeed in taking over the server space. But ARM even considering it is very threatening to Intel for competition drives down ASPs and Intel makes their big bucks off Big Data ASPs. Intels big advantage is not their performance but the fact they have all the parts already assembled and these parts are needed for security and reliability. Big companies like reliable things and thus are less frequent to breaking for an hour of downtime is measured in the millions of dollars. That and the code is optimized for Intel's architecture already.
But once ARM is considered a capable competitor by Intel's Customers is a very bad day for Intel, for on that day Intel has a lot less pricing power.
One reason why Intel is getting into the cheap tablet and phone business is to deny profitability to its competitors. Every dollar spent at Intel fabs is one less dollar TSMC gets or one less dollar Qualcomm gets. As long as Intel loses no money on tablets and phones over the long term doing this makes rational sense. It even makes sense to lose money in the short term, for this lost money if done correctly is an investment designed to create marketshare.