Intel and TSMC could team up in a joint chipmaking venture

Summary: Intel is losing ground fast to rivals like TSMC and Arm-based chipmakers, as delays and setbacks push customers like Apple to build their own chips. Now, Intel and TSMC are teaming up in a joint venture, with TSMC sharing its chipmaking expertise and potentially using Intel’s factories.

Intel is in serious trouble. The company, which once dominated the semiconductor landscape, is now quickly losing market share to other companies like TSMC. The shift from desktop computers to mobile phones and tablets has seen a surge in demand for Arm-based chipsets. Intel has failed to keep up, resulting in companies like TSMC pulling ahead. However, now it appears that both Intel and TSMC will work together in a joint venture.

An Intel TSMC joint venture

According to a report from The Information, both TSMC and Intel are teaming up for a joint venture. Prior to this, there were reports that TSMC was looking to acquire a 20% stake in Intel. This new report suggests that TSMC is approaching this from a different angle. Instead of acquiring a stake in its competitor, TSMC will share its chipmaking practices with Intel and train its employees.

This is interesting and borderline altruistic, but we’re sure that there are finer points of this joint venture that will possibly benefit TSMC as well. Perhaps this deal could allow TSMC to use some of Intel’s manufacturing facilities. It would save the company a lot of time and resources from having to build its own.

Enough to save Intel?

Like we said, Intel is in trouble. The company has failed to keep up with the demand for more modern-day tech. Its own products faced numerous delays and setbacks. This led to customers such as Apple pulling out and developing its own Arm-based Apple Silicon chipsets.

These chipsets now power Apple’s Mac computers, which were previously powered using Intel’s chips. Qualcomm has also entered the space with its own Snapdragon X Elite chipsets. This gives PC makers more options when it comes to choosing components. Plus, the longer battery lives offered by Arm chipsets are a huge selling point.

Let’s not forget the various hardware catastrophes Intel faced with some of its more recent chips.

Intel’s products still have a lot of use and demand in the enterprise space, especially when it comes to data centers that require a lot of servers. However, with reports that Apple plans to power its servers using its own chipsets, we wouldn’t be surprised if other companies were to follow in their footsteps.