Apple to partner Intel to design and build chips in US, confirms President Trump
Washington, June 18
,: US President Donald Trump confirmed that Apple is going to partner with Intel to design and manufacture its chips in US. The president made the announcement on his Truth Social platform saying that it is not just important to design chips but to build them locally as well.
Trump also said that the US helped Intel by buying 10 per cent equity in the chip maker and the company's overall valuation has gone up to USD600 billion from USD100 billion earlier. Consequently, the US government's stake has risen to over USD60 billion in just nine months.
The President said that America needs to get its semiconductor industry back accusing other presidents for "letting Taiwan and others to steal our semiconductor factories".
The move will lead to diversification for Apple that heavily relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's biggest chip foundry, to manufacture its advanced chips.
According to a WSJ report in May, the two companies had reached a preliminary agreement in May although details were still sketchy.
The AI supply chain is critical especially in a volatile geopolitical environment and the US has been trying to secure critical materials and other layers of the supply chain to cut down reliance on China.
"First, we helped bring in Nvidia, and they agreed to build their first level Chips with Intel," Trump said in the Truth Social post adding that Elon Musk also agreed to build the TerraFab in America.
Intel is making its most advanced chip node 18A-P signaling customers that the chip maker is ready for cutting-edge innovation needed for advanced chips.
"Our updates and presentations at VLSI signal to Intel Foundry customers and partners that we are fully committed to leading edge process innovation over the long term," said Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and general manager of Intel Foundry.
"This is a journey, and while we have more work ahead, we appreciate the opportunity to share the progress we are making with Intel 18A-P and our longer-range R&D."
— ANI
Reader Comments
I'm skeptical. Intel's foundry business has been struggling for years. TSMC dominates for a reason — better yields, more advanced nodes. Apple partnering with Intel sounds like a political move, not a technical one. Let's see if they can actually deliver 18A-P chips on time.
The US government owning stake in Intel is unprecedented. ₹60,000 crore in returns in 9 months? That's massive. But I worry about the implications for India — if US becomes self-sufficient in chips, they may not need to invest in India's semiconductor ecosystem. We must push our own agenda!
Good for US jobs, but this kind of protectionism will hurt global supply chains. Taiwan and Korea have invested decades building their expertise. You can't just throw money at Intel and expect them to match TSMC overnight. Meanwhile, India's chip ambitions might suffer collateral damage.
As an Indian electronics engineer, I see this as a wake-up call. We can't remain dependent on imports forever. The US is aggressively reshoring, but India has the talent pool. We just need the right policies and investments. 18A-P sounds impressive — hope Intel delivers! 🚀
Trump always talks big, but let's be honest — Apple's A and M-series chips are the best in the world thanks to TSMC. Intel's 10nm and 7nm processes have been delayed repeatedly. Unless Intel has really turned a corner, this partnership might be more about optics than actual performance.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.