Intel has tentatively agreed to let Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSMC) take over some of its chipmaking facilities, according to The Information. TSMC will hold a 20 % stake in the joint venture, contributing not cash, but value through sharing its chipmaking practices and training Intel staff, according to anonymous sources cited by the publication.
Rumours of a possible invasion of Intel started swirling in February, with TSMC and Broadcom considering splitting the U. S.company’s production and design arms between them. The following month, TSMC reportedly offered a share in its proposed merger of the device factories to , as well as Broadcom.
Both NVIDIA and Broadcom initiated manufacturing tests at Intel’s services at the time, resources said. But, Intel did not want to sell its chip design home separately from the furnace division, which manufactures personalized cards for its customers.
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Intel used to be a big in the CPU market, but the AI boom has led to new challenges. Unlike its competitors, Intel chose not to focus only on either developing or designing cards and otherwise engaged in both. As a result, it saw its chip-making pursuits eclipsed by TSMC, who won NVIDIA as a consumer.
The U. S. production image also had some problems with quality in 2024, leading to its first reported net loss since 1986, and dropping from second to second on Gartner’s list of top global semiconductor suppliers by earnings growth. Nevertheless, after The Information’s story was published, .
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On February 28, Intel delayed the build of two , Ohio by at least five years, which the general manager of Intel Foundry Manufacturing said was to “align the start of production of our fabs with the needs of our business and broader market demand”, as well as” manage our capital responsibly”.
The$ 28 billion project was greenlit in 2022, under the leadership of former CEO Pat Gelsinger. He was removed by Intel’s board in December after his ambitious turnaround plan — which involved funnelling money into new fabs — failed to provide notable market share growth or profitability.
Gelsinger was replaced by chip industry in mid-March, who quickly announced that Intel would be spinning off assets that aren’t part of its . He said the company would now be focusing efforts on AI and so-called” Software 2.0″, where language models and machine learning replace manually written code. Tan also revealed his intention to hire quality engineers, boost Intel’s chip foundry work, and potentially launch a custom semiconductor service.
President Trump supports TSMC’s involvement with Intel
U. S. President Donald Trump encouraged TSMC to assist in pulling Intel out of its slump with a joint venture, . He is keen to revive the former U. S. manufacturing icon while strengthening domestic production, so he does not want any part of Intel to be fully foreign-owned. As a result, TSMC is reportedly limiting its stake in Intel to under 50 % to ensure regulatory approval under the Trump administration.