In the tech industry, anything can happen very quickly. We all remember the almost mythical turnaround in fortunes for AMD, given up for dead and now triumphant. Intel, too, could be in for a hell of a comeback if it finally gets some big customers for its foundry business . After a divorce in 2020, Intel could re-engage with Intel to manufacture its next M chips. If all goes well, Intel could start delivering these chips by the second half of 2027.
Intel’s foundries finally launched?
According to Ming-Chi Kuo ‘s analysis, considered very reliable when it comes to Apple, the Apple brand is seriously considering diversifying its sourcing and no longer relying exclusively on Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC. This would also be a way of reassuring the US administration on the subject. According to the same source, we are no longer in the process of making contacts or carrying out preliminary studies, since Apple has already signed a confidentiality agreement and obtained access to development tools to work on chips based on Intel’s 18AP process. On the blue side, a confidentiality agreement has also been in place for some time, allowing access to technical data on Apple’s chips to advance this project. The aim would be to produce future entry-level M chips for low-cost Macbooks, potentially the M6 or M7 . With this decision, Apple would also be limiting its risks, since these “low-cost” Macbooks are a new range in the Apple product family. Apple’s historic product lines will continue to be manufactured by TSMC . If the operation is successful, the Mac mini and Ipad could also be equipped with Intel chips.
Of course, the finalization of this deal could take on an important political dimension, given the pressure exerted by President Trump to relocate as much production as possible to the USA. The government’s acquisition of a stake in Intel would then take on a whole new meaning.
