US President Trump announced late on June 18 via a Truth Social post that Apple had agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S., incorporating them into the previously established chip manufacturing reshoring framework that had already attracted Nvidia and Musk’s TeraFab project to Intel’s foundry. Intel’s pre-market stock price surged over 10% to around $133. As of this writing, Apple declined to comment, and Intel stated that it “does not comment on potential Apple-Intel agreements.” Neither party has officially confirmed the existence of a deal, and the relevant terms, chip type, and production timeline have not yet been disclosed; WSJ previously reported separately that the two sides had been negotiating a preliminary agreement for over a year. Trump’s post characterized the partnership as “design and manufacture,” but analysts noted that the actual arrangement is more likely to be Intel manufacturing Apple’s self-designed chips as a foundry, rather than Apple returning to using Intel-designed processors.
In context, Apple launched its “Apple Silicon” transition in 2020, shifting Mac chips from Intel’s own processors to its self-designed M-series, manufactured by TSMC. If this foundry partnership with Intel materializes, it would mark Apple’s first partial return to U.S. manufacturing. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously predicted that Intel would begin mass production of low-end M-series chips (using the 18A node) for Apple as early as 2027, and that Apple’s A21 iPhone chip might move to Intel’s 14A node in 2028 — but none of these projections have been confirmed by either side. Intel’s 14A process just entered risk production this month; CEO Lip-Bu Tan revealed last month that several foundry commitments are expected to be finalized in the second half of the year. For Intel, adding a client of Apple’s scale would be a key asset in its effort to rejuvenate its foundry business and catch up with TSMC. For Apple, amid memory price increases and trade tariff risks, reducing its reliance on TSMC also aligns with its current supply chain diversification goals.
Truth Social | Reuters | CNBC