The microprocessor business "is a target risk environment; it's not for the faint of heart," he said.

National was expected to divest itself of Fairchild's microprocessor business because it already had its own.

Such blazing speeds could help Intel fend off competition in the microprocessor business - if the new microprocessor ever appears as a product.

"This is a technology demonstration," said Albert Yu, the Intel executive in charge of microprocessor business.

The Intel Corporation is preparing to provide details of an extremely powerful new chip for the microprocessor business.

"The microprocessor business had become less interesting business to me," said Dham.

Motorola and Intel have been fierce rivals in the microprocessor business for years.

Midlevel managers, he says, are warned never to say the company "dominates" the microprocessor business, but only that it "leads."

He argued the microprocessor business could be attractive to the right buyer, perhaps without the factory.

But in a broader sense, Intel has become increasingly dominant in the microprocessor business in recent years.