- Intel is currently without CEO and its future looks unclear
- TSMC and Broadcom are interested in separate areas of the chip producer’s business
- Any agreement is facing major obstacles – government rules, factory setting and political pushback
Although it debuted with some super-fast AI chips in 2024 in an attempt to match his rival AMD, Intel is not the power center it used to be.
While Nvidia is the second largest company in the world (behind Apple) of market capital, worth $ 3.4 trillion, and AMD is in 80th place, worth $ 183.27 billion, Intel, currently without CEO after Pat Gelsinger’s departure in December 2024, is prolonged. at 173. Space for $ 102.18 billion – location of it between Rio Tinto and Airbnb.
This has led to all kinds of rumors around Intel’s future, including speculation that it could merge with AMD’s previous foundry, Globalfoundries, in a potential deal of several billion dollars. But now maybe comes the saddest news of everything from a new Wall Street Journal Report that says Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Broadcom are considering separate offers that can divide the iconic chipmaker in half.
Big obstacles to overcome
The report claims that Broadcom has “closely examined Intel’s chip design and marketing business,” and according to people who are familiar with the case, “have” informally discussed with its advisers who submit a bid but would probably only do so if it finds one Partner of Intel’s manufacturing company said the people.
At the same time, TSMC is considering taking control of Intels Chiplants (either some or all) – a step that was apparently suggested by the Trump administration. However WSJ was told by an official in the White House that the president will “unlikely to support an agreement that involved a foreign entity that drives Intel’s factories,” so do what you want.
The WSJ Stress Broadcom and TSMC have not come together to cut Intel into two – these are not – related opportunities – and all the negotiations so far are “preliminary and virtually informal.”
There are a few obstacles that stand in the way of such an agreement. The 2022 chips law created a $ 53 billion subsidy program to increase domestic chip production, with Intel receiving the largest stock – up to $ 7.9 billion. As a condition of financing, the chipmaker must retain a majority share in its factories if they are ever spun into a separate unit. The US government also has to approve any agreement involving TSMC or other investors taking control of Intel’s facilities.
The WSJ Also note that any agreement is facing operational problems noting that Intel’s factories have largely been set up to produce Intel chips, and the company has only begun to try to manufacture chips for external customers in the last few years. “Retooling Intel factories to make advanced chips TSMC’s way would be a significant and precious technical challenge,” adds it.
