US President Donald Trump announced that Apple will partner with Intel to manufacture its chips in the US. He added that the US government’s stake in Intel has risen to over $60 billion, stressing the need to secure the AI supply chain.
Trump Confirms Apple-Intel US Chip Partnership
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”.
Strategic Move to Bolster Domestic Supply Chain
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.
Intel’s Broader Commitments and Innovations
“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.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)