Intel Looking to Offload Connected Home Division

Intel has invited prospective business partners into its home for Thanksgiving dinner. But the California chipmaker will only let them stay for pie if they buy its connected home division.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Intel's looking to unload the unit, which pulls in around $450 million in annual sales. This division makes chipsets for home routers and gateway points, the gadgets that connect your smart devices to the internet.

Under CEO Bob Swan, Intel is shedding non-core, poor-performing business lines.

• In April, it bowed out of the 5G smartphone chip game after struggling to meet targets and find a path to profitability.
• In July, Intel sold most of its smartphone modem business, which had been losing about $1 billion annually, to Apple. Recode reported in 2016 that Intel spent over $10 billion trying to catch up in mobile.

Big picture: Intel's still a semiconductor giant. It wants to remain focused on what it does best, making processors, as competition heats up from Qualcomm, Broadcom, and new entrants building their own AI and smart device chips.