Intel is reportedly in preliminary talks with AMD about producing some of the rival company’s chips through Intel’s Foundry services, according to Semafor. The discussions are still in the early stages, and it remains unclear how much of AMD’s production might shift away from TSMC, its primary manufacturing partner. Intel itself continues to use TSMC for certain products.
The news comes during a period of major developments for Intel. The U.S. government recently took a 9.9% ownership stake in the company, SoftBank invested $2 billion, and Nvidia not only announced new x86 chips built with Intel but also purchased $5 billion worth of its shares. Reports also suggest Intel has been exploring collaborations with Apple.
Bringing AMD onboard would mark a major validation of Intel’s push to attract big-name customers to its Foundry business. Former CEO Pat Gelsinger had long promoted the idea of building chips for the world’s top tech companies — even for rivals. While it’s not clear if AMD might pursue a stock purchase similar to Nvidia, its involvement would represent a significant win.
Current Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has indicated that if customer demand is insufficient, the company may discontinue its 18A node entirely. At the same time, U.S. officials are pressing for half of all chips destined for America to be produced domestically. That pressure, along with possible tariffs, could incentivize U.S. chipmakers like AMD to work with Intel. Such a partnership could also be viewed favorably by Washington, now Intel’s biggest shareholder.
Although Intel’s Foundry technology is generally considered less advanced than TSMC’s, it could still serve as a useful backup .for AMD
