"The talks are surprising because Intel has always profiled itself as a chipmaker that both designs and manufactures. This is in contrast to many competitors who are largely dependent on external foundries. In recent years, however, the company has increasingly outsourced production to TSMC. While the Taiwanese manufacturer produces CPUs, GPUs, and network chips for Intel, among other things, Intel continues to manufacture its own Xeon processors for data centers."
"Intel is now focusing strongly on innovating its production technology. The company has developed the 18A process, which will be used to produce the Panther Lake client chips this year and the Clearwater Forest E-core Xeons in 2026, among other things. Nevertheless, TSMC remains an essential partner for the time being. The upcoming Nova Lake processors will use both internal and external foundry capacity, and notebook chips developed by Intel in collaboration with Nvidia will also contain TSMC silicon."
Intel and TSMC are in talks about a potential TSMC investment in Intel despite their long history as partners and rivals. Intel traditionally designs and manufactures chips but has increasingly outsourced production to TSMC while keeping in-house Xeon production for data centers. Intel's foundry ambitions struggled due to high costs and a lack of major customers, contributing to former CEO Pat Gelsinger's departure. Under Lip-Bu Tan, Intel is prioritizing production innovation and has developed the 18A process for upcoming chips. Intel aims to reduce reliance on TSMC and promote its 14A process, while TSMC remains the market leader and a potential investor.
Read at Techzine Global
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