"Intel Requests Investment or Manufacturing Partnership from TSMC and Apple"

Accelerated After Trump Administration Acquired Stake
Uncertainty Remains Over Reaching an Agreement

Amid financial difficulties, the American semiconductor company Intel has reportedly sought investment or manufacturing partnerships from Apple, Taiwan's TSMC, and others, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on the 25th (local time).

Reuters Yonhap News

WSJ, citing sources, reported that these efforts by Intel were already underway, but gained momentum after the Donald Trump administration acquired a stake in the company last month.

Previously, Intel announced last month that the Trump administration would purchase newly issued common shares equivalent to a 9.9% stake for 8.9 billion dollars (approximately 12.5 trillion won). The purchase funds were covered by 5.7 billion dollars in unpaid subsidies approved under the Chips Act and 3.2 billion dollars allocated through the Department of Defense’s “Secure Semiconductor Independence” program.

Last month, Intel also signed a stock purchase agreement worth 2 billion dollars (approximately 2.8 trillion won) with Japan’s SoftBank Group. Earlier this month, Nvidia, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, invested 5 billion dollars in Intel to acquire about a 4% stake and agreed to pursue technological cooperation, including joint chip development.

Bloomberg News also reported the previous day, citing sources, that Apple and Intel discussed close cooperation measures. However, the sources noted that the discussions are in the early stages and may not lead to an agreement. Intel is also reportedly in contact with other companies for investment and partnership opportunities.

Apple used Intel chips as the CPU for Mac computers for many years, but began switching to its own custom-designed chips a few years ago. The iPhone is also equipped with chips designed directly by Apple.