According to the SEMAFOR websiteRefers toIntel has recently not only received financial support from the US government, NVIDIA and SoftBank, but is also reportedly in active talks with AMD, hoping to manufacture chips for its long-term competitor.
If this partnership materializes, it would not only be a major breakthrough for Intel in the foundry sector but also represent a potentially radically new landscape for the US semiconductor industry. Following the news, Intel's stock price immediately surged 3.5%, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 77%, demonstrating the market's high expectations for the move.
Competitors become customers?
AMD currently primarily outsources its chip manufacturing to TSMC, particularly its highest-end CPUs and GPUs, which rely on TSMC's advanced process technology. Reports indicate that Intel's current process technology is still insufficient to support the mass production of AMD's high-end processors. Therefore, even if the two sides were to collaborate, Intel would likely initially focus on product lines with relatively lower technical barriers to entry.
Furthermore, if the two sides confirm a partnership, how much production capacity would be transferred to Intel? Would AMD, like other manufacturers, directly invest in Intel fabs? These questions remain unclear. People familiar with the matter also point out that the negotiations are subject to uncertainty and the deal could fall apart at any time.
Intel and AMD declined to comment on the report.
Political push leads to shift in US production capacity
It's widely believed that, despite Intel's lagging process technology behind TSMC, the US government's push for "localized chip manufacturing" has made Intel a key option for tech giants looking to diversify their production capacity. Especially with the Trump administration's continued emphasis on America's position as the leader in chip manufacturing, some manufacturers have opted to transfer production of their low- and mid-range process products to Intel's US fabs.
Maintaining a relationship with the White House is equally important to AMD. Earlier this year, AMD was hit by export controls, which impacted its sales in China. The situation has only eased somewhat since the Trump administration recently relaxed restrictions. Therefore, by collaborating with Intel, AMD may be able to further strengthen its strategic position in US policy.
Intel's "comeback"?
Intel's performance in the foundry market over the past few years has lagged far behind TSMC and Samsung, and at one point, its ability to truly enter the market was questioned. However, since the US government's generous subsidies and calls for localized production, Intel has received contact and attention from potential customers, including NVIDIA and Apple.
The rumored collaboration with AMD represents a significant step forward in Intel's strategy of "turning competitors into customers." If the deal is finalized, Intel will not only increase its foundry market share and revenue, but also, with the support of US policy, strengthen its image as the "only major domestic chip maker."
Process technology application direction remains the focus
However, although Intel emphasized that its advanced process 18A is progressing smoothly and will be used for the nextCodename Panther Lake processorHowever, it was previously reported that Broadcom originally intended to cooperate with Intel to produce products using the 18A process, but after actual testing, it was not satisfied with the results and turned to other foundries, causing Intel's foundry business to lose more than US$30 billion in a single quarter. Intel CEO Lip-Mo Chen even said that the company would further jump to the next process node 14A.
The current 18A process yield is still relatively low, and rumors indicate that the next processor, codenamed Nova Lake, will be produced using TSMC's 2nm process. This suggests that Intel's foundry business is struggling to handle the mass production of high-end, or even flagship-level, processor wafers. Therefore, its partnership with AMD may focus on entry-level products, or target embedded processor applications, or even be responsible for only partial wafer manufacturing for high-end processors.
From the perspective of overall business, it can establish more customer relationships and make better use of its foundry resources, which may be a good development opportunity for Intel at present.
