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Apple supplier TSMC has reached a preliminary agreement with Intel that will see TSMC operating Intel’s chipmaking facilities, reports The Information. TSMC will own a 20 percent stake in the new combined company, while Intel and other semiconductor companies will own the majority of the shares.

intel-logo.jpg

As part of the deal, TSMC may share some of its chip manufacturing methods with Intel, and train Intel employees to use them. Discussions are still underway, and the final details have not been established. The talks between Intel and TSMC were reportedly initiated by the Trump administration in an effort to stymy Intel’s decline and bring advanced chipmaking to the U.S.

Intel is one of TSMC’s major competitors, and the two have long been rivals. Apple previously used Intel chips in its Macs, but transitioned to its own Apple silicon chips manufactured by TSMC starting in 2020. No Apple devices use Intel processors, with Apple now relying entirely on its own technology.

TSMC focuses on chip manufacturing, not design, which is handled by TSMC customers like Apple and Nvidia. The focus solely on manufacturing has allowed TSMC to outpace Intel, and Intel’s foundary operations are less attractive to companies because Intel’s chips cost more than TSMC’s and its yields are lower.

Some Intel executives are said to be worried that the deal would result in layoffs, because Intel would need to eliminate engineers and may need to change or sell the equipment that it uses. Intel and TSMC have different manufacturing machines and materials, so if Intel is expected to adopt TSMC manufacturing processes, it could have to sell most of its existing equipment.

In 2024, Intel had an $18.8 billion loss because of its investments in chip manufacturing and a weakening PC market.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Supplier TSMC May Operate Intel’s Chipmaking Facilities
 
On the hopes this news is legit and comes to fruition... I'm buying around 3 shares of Intel ASAP. Already have 1 share of TSMC. Always invest long term... wish I'd offered $21/share, instead of $20/share last night... I'd have my 1 share of Intel now. Couldn't figure out what made it shoot UP a dollar or two, when everyone else I track (Apple, ARM, TSMC, etc.) was trading sideways today, for the most part). I cancelled my Intel order and bought 5 shares of OXLC instead. Now I'm kinda wishing I hadn't. Oh well... that's the stock market for ya!
 
if, BIG IF, this is true, it'll be a sad day for Intel.
They just announced their18A risk production earlier this week, that is Intels competitor to TSMC 2nm process.

fabs aren't "interchangeable", TSMC engineers cannot train Intel engineers to use TSMC process on Intel equipment ...

This rumor has first come up like a month ago and TSMC denied ...

so we shall see
 
Unless I am missing something what does this have do with Apple? Will this make apple go back to intel chips? Sorry if I am sounding stupid here.
 
competition is good. it drives people to innovate more
and I do not mind using windows. Apple is a good os for multimedia and artists.
windows is my machine of choice for business apps. 3 D modeling
looking forward to a 3nm or 2nm powerhouse chip that is easy on electricity.
building pc's is still fun.
 
I was thinking to myself yesterday wether any financially fragile companies in America would go bankrupt in the coming months / years due to the ‘turbulent’ market and get swallowed up by foreign investment for pennies on the dollar. :(
 
The Future is ARM and it’s reduced Instruction Set, not x86 so this is understandable. I still use an Intel Mac, so I have soft spot for Intel
 
Will TSMC buyout Intel to save Intel and then convert them to TSMC factories?
good question.

my opinion:
1 TSMC probably wouldn't want to own most of the in-place Intel factories and deal with so many contentious labour issues like downsizing the staff as a result of its own management system.
2 quite possibly the USAmerican government might not let TSMC take it over due to strategic concerns and anti-monopoly laws.
3 China (PRC) will eventually take back Taiwan. and a TSMC/Intel wider ranging partnership (than the 20% share ithat is reported) would be impossible. tiktok on steroids.
 
On the hopes this news is legit and comes to fruition... I'm buying around 3 shares of Intel ASAP. Already have 1 share of TSMC. Always invest long term... wish I'd offered $21/share, instead of $20/share last night... I'd have my 1 share of Intel now. Couldn't figure out what made it shoot UP a dollar or two, when everyone else I track (Apple, ARM, TSMC, etc.) was trading sideways today, for the most part). I cancelled my Intel order and bought 5 shares of OXLC instead. Now I'm kinda wishing I hadn't. Oh well... that's the stock market for ya!
And people were making fun of me for only investing $100-300 at a time a decade ago...

Come on, $20 barely covers a meal at Five Guys - make some bigger moves. Even if you're trying to Dollar Cost Average, I think it's silly to only be investing $20/day on stocks. Think about how much time you're spending deciding what move you make. An hour? How much is that time worth? Probably more than the dollars you're spending.

And don't worry about the little 5% moves each day. If you don't want to hold for at least 2 years, it's not worth buying it at all. If it's worth investing in, you'll get a payback of over 20% between dividends and share appreciation.
 
This is pretty interesting.

Do we risk TSMC becoming the new Intel? That is... do they find themselves without competitors and rest on their laurels and the whole industry stagnates? Or... who are their competitors? Does Samsung do chip fab? I thought not...
 
good question.

my opinion:
1 TSMC probably wouldn't want to own most of the in-place Intel factories and deal with so many contentious labour issues like downsizing the staff as a result of its own management system.
2 quite possibly the USAmerican government might not let TSMC take it over due to strategic concerns and anti-monopoly laws.
3 China (PRC) will eventually take back Taiwan. and a TSMC/Intel wider ranging partnership (than the 20% share ithat is reported) would be impossible. tiktok on steroids.
Could the US Government somehow buy TSMC? Maybe loan enough money to Intel that Intel buys TSMC with it? Is there any precedence to the US Government being worried about a whole company involved with national security being taken over by a rival country?

It seems a bit like Operation Paperclip after WWII... but those were just individual scientists, not an entire company. I suppose that's another option - maybe instead of taking TSMC, just offer residence to key employees and poach them? That'd be... interesting.
 
Could the US Government somehow buy TSMC? Maybe loan enough money to Intel that Intel buys TSMC with it? Is there any precedence to the US Government being worried about a whole company involved with national security being taken over by a rival country?

It seems a bit like Operation Paperclip after WWII... but those were just individual scientists, not an entire company. I suppose that's another option - maybe instead of taking TSMC, just offer residence to key employees and poach them? That'd be... interesting.
interesting.

the thing is, though, Trump/MAGA theology says that foreigner people are not needed or wanted.
the one point of contention between Musk and Trump-ites is on the issue of H-1A/B visas.
Trumpsters dont even want to let in engineers and scientists from aboard.
brain drain is happening now, as we speak (from the USA to Canada and also back to China).
 
interesting.

the thing is, though, Trump/MAGA theology says that foreigner people are not needed or wanted.
the one point of contention between Musk and Trump-ites is on the issue of H-1A/B visas.
Trumpsters dont even want to let in engineers and scientists from aboard.
brain drain is happening now, as we speak (from the USA to Canada and also back to China).
I wonder how they'd feel if instead of pitching it as "we need them" it was instead pitched as "we don't want China to have them". So instead of suggesting Americans are insufficient, you suggest we're just denying China to have a chance to compete.

If job security is the concern, I think it's a lot better if those people are in the US than outside... because international companies are going to consider hiring them either way, and their CoL is much higher and so they're a lot less competitive on a talent per dollar basis if they're in the US instead of many of those countries with a lower CoL.
 
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I don’t see the logic here for TSMC. Why help your main competitor unless they are planning a future merger.
 
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