President Trump claims Apple has agreed to buy chips from Intel

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Apple Inc. is going to “design and build” computer chips with Intel Corp. The deal, if confirmed, would be a significant win for Intel, which has struggled to secure big-name customers for its most advanced node technology in recent years.

According to a post on Trump’s social media network Truth Social, the deal represents part of the White House’s ongoing campaign to bring more chip manufacturing back to the U.S. The President reiterated his belief that there’s an urgent need for America to build chips domestically, and that this was why he “decided to help Intel” last year.

Apple has designed its own silicon for years and is one of the world’s largest buyers of semiconductors, after having stopped buying Intel processors back in 2020. It won’t suddenly return to Intel’s designs. If a deal is confirmed, it will be a relatively simple contract manufacturing deal, with Intel simply building the chips designed by Apple’s in-house teams.

In all likelihood, Intel would only manufacture a small fraction of Apple’s chips. The iPhone maker has long relied on the services of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as it’s principle manufacturing supplier, and that arrangement isn’t going to change any time soon. Instead, the deal would most likely just be a way for Apple to diversify its supplier base a little at a time when much of TSMC’s new capacity is being absorbed by demand for advanced artificial intelligence accelerators made by companies like Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The iPhone maker is most likely going to continue sourcing its higher-end M-Series chips exclusively from TSMC’s advanced nodes.

Talk of an arrangement between Intel and Apple first surfaced last month, when it was reported that the two companies have been holding discussions for close to a year. Previously, the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known for having good contacts inside Apple and has leaked multiple stories that later turned out to be correct over the years, said the discussions pertain to manufacturing Apple’s M7 Series chips on Intel’s 18A-P process. Those chips are destined for the MacBook Air laptop and entry-level iPad Pro, with mass production expected by 2027.

This was reiterated today by Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin, who told the New York Times that Apple would likely lean on Intel for chips for its Mac computers before expanding to include the iPhone later. Other reports have suggested some of Apple’s A21 iPhone chips could be made on Intel’s upcoming 14A node by 2028, but if this is true, it would likely only be a relatively small volume, Bajarin said.

Trump’s social media post follows an announcement by Intel earlier this week, which said its 18A-P process has now entered risk production. It’s the first performance-enhanced version of the 18A node, and the chipmaker claims it will enable 9% higher performance at the same power, or 18% less power at the same level of performance. Intel Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan (pictured) said in a recent earnings call that he expects to announce multiple foundry commitments in the second half of the year.

The chipmaker has been searching for external customers to utilize its cutting-edge process node for some time, and Tan has made this a key piece of his comeback plan for the company. If it did secure Apple as a customer, the deal would be viewed as a massive win that validates its most advanced process node, potentially helping it to attract other new clients.

The U.S. government is a key shareholder of Intel, having acquired a 10% stake in the chipmaker last year. Over the last 12 months, the stock has gained a staggering 464%, extending its market capitalization to $608.7 billion.

Photo: Intel