Away from TSMC? Apple And Intel Negotiate About US Chip Production

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After more than a year of negotiations, Intel is to manufacture processors for Apple again in future, according to media reports. The US government pushed ahead with the preliminary agreement on a massive scale, causing Intel's share price to soar.

The deal marks a turnaround in the relationship between the two companies. After Apple finally said goodbye to Intel processors in its Mac computers in 2023, the connection seemed to have been severed. Now Apple is apparently returning, but not as a buyer of finished Intel chips, but as a customer of Intel's foundry business, in which the company manufactures chips on behalf of others. It is still unclear which Apple products will run on Intel silicon in the future. Among other things, the use of Intel's future 14A manufacturing process or the 18A process for the entry-level variants of the M-series chips is under discussion.

The US government is playing a key role in this deal. According to US media, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is said to have been heavily involved in the negotiations and met with Apple CEO Tim Cook on several occasions. The background to this intervention lies in the government's stake in Intel: in August 2025, the US government converted 8.9 billion US dollars in subsidies into a ten percent equity stake. Even though this investment is passive and the government does not hold any supervisory board seats, there is a clear interest in the commercial success of the chip manufacturer. An unnamed government spokesperson expressed this to Reuters: "In general, we want to help Intel and have already done so." They have also tried to "boost new business for Intel."

Wall Street Rejoices Over the Deal

The news of the pending billion-dollar deal hit the stock market like a bomb. Intel shares jumped by up to 15 percent and reached a new all-time high of over 126 US dollars. The stock even surpassed the highs from the dotcom bubble in 2000. Since the low point in the summer of 2025, Intel shares have staged an unprecedented rally and gained over 200% in value. Apple shares responded with a moderate gain of just under two percent. Analysts were enthusiastic; the Lynx Equity service raised its price target for Intel to 175 US dollars.

For Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the provisional agreement is a huge success. Tan took over the leadership of the company after his predecessor Pat Gelsinger presented weak business figures in the summer of 2024. In addition to the envisaged deal with Apple, Intel also recently received a five billion dollar investment from Nvidia. The two companies are also cooperating on the development of a new chip for PCs.

TSMC: Asia Remains Calm

While the champagne corks are likely to be popping in the USA, developments in Asia are being observed more soberly. The Taiwanese chip giant TSMC, which currently manufactures the majority of Apple processors, has not yet commented on the reports. However, industry experts in Taiwan do not see the deal as an immediate threat to TSMC:

Liu Pei-chen, economist at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, emphasized to Focus Taiwan that TSMC continues to be a technological leader. Particularly in terms of yield, energy efficiency and advanced packaging technologies, TSMC is well ahead of competitors such as Intel and Samsung. A rapid and comprehensive switch by Apple to Intel is therefore unlikely. Rather, observers see the move as an attempt by Apple to diversify its supply chains. As TSMC is currently more than fully utilized due to the high demand for AI chips, especially from Nvidia, Apple is looking for ways to secure its production and at the same time gain a better negotiating position with TSMC.

Neither Apple nor Intel have yet officially confirmed the preliminary agreement. The tech world is eagerly awaiting further details on the deal, which could reshape the balance of power on the global semiconductor market. (mc)

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