Intel, TSMC agree to form chipmaking joint venture
TSMC had recently pitched Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom to take stakes in a JV that would operate Intel’s factories after the US administration requested the Taiwanese chipmaker to help turn around the struggling US company.
Intel and Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture to operate the US chipmaker’s factories.
TSMC will take a 20% stake in the new company, the Information reported.
TSMC had pitched Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom to take stakes in a JV that would operate Intel’s factories after the US administration requested the Taiwanese chipmaker to help turn around the struggling US company, Reuters had reported in March.
In March, TSMC said it plans to make a fresh USD 100 billion investment in the US by building five additional chip facilities.
Intel recently appointed chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO. Tan has taken charge amid one of the most difficult phases in the history of the chipmaker, once a symbol of American dominance in the semiconductor industry. Not only has Intel lost its lead in process manufacturing to TSMC, it has also failed to catch up in the booming AI sector, where Nvidia has left the competition behind.
Tan, a former board member of Intel, replaced interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and MJ Holthaus, who took temporary charge in December 2024 when Patrick Gelsinger was ousted as CEO. In a letter to shareholders, CEO Tan said he was equally focussed on Intel’s product business and contract chip manufacturing business.
Three Intel board members, Omar Ishrak, Tsu-Jae King Liu, and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, will not stand for reelection at its annual meeting this year, the company said in a recent regulatory filing.
