Intel this week opened a one-stop shop for chip designers seeking to bring their product to market quickly and at a lower cost, offering to manage the chip-making process from concept to final product.

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, will utilise factories in Asia owned by companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and rely in part on its own experience in chip design and project management.

The new business, Intel Microelectronics Services, is not the first to offer complete chip outsourcing services - LSI Logic Corp is one well-known provider - but it is likely to make a major impact in the emerging market for such services.