Calxeda makes a chip called EnergyCore with a low-power ARM processor, which is used in experimental servers from Hewlett-Packard and Dell. There is a growing interest in ARM servers as an energy-efficient way to process high volumes of online transactions and provide a faster response to search and social network requests.

The Calxeda chip is also commercially available being used in a server called Viridis from Boston Ltd. The server has up to 48 Calxeda chips -- or 192 ARM cores in a 2U enclosure -- and integrated networking and storage units. Each Calxeda chip consumes as little as 5 watts.

ARM processors are mainly found in smartphones and tablets, but some analysts believe a congregation of mobile chips could be a power-efficient alternative to x86 server chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, which are used in most servers today. Some low-power Intel Atom chips are already being used in servers, and Intel is also launching a new line of low-power x86 Atom S-series server chips later this year to further tackle the ARM threat.

The current Calxeda chip is based on the Cortex-A9 ARM processor design. More products and partnerships will come in the future, a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

The privately held Calxeda now has attracted investments to the tune of $100 million since the company was founded more than four years ago. The company has more than 100 employees working in the U.S. and Asia.