Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary agreement that would see Intel manufacture some of the chips destined for Apple devices, according to The Wall Street Journal. The deal, which took shape over more than a year of negotiations completed in recent months, hands Intel Foundry one of the most significant external customers it has ever secured and marks a notable shift for Apple, which has relied almost exclusively on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build its custom silicon for over a decade.
Neither Apple nor Intel has publicly confirmed the arrangement. Both companies declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, which independently reported on the deal. No SEC filing, earnings transcript, or regulatory disclosure has surfaced to corroborate specific terms. But the convergence of reporting from two major outlets with deep semiconductor sourcing gives the story a strong factual foundation, even as key details remain undisclosed.
Why this deal matters for Intel
Intel has spent tens of billions of dollars retooling itself as a contract chip manufacturer under its Intel Foundry Services division, now simply called Intel Foundry. The effort has been central to the company’s turnaround strategy under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took the helm in March 2025 and has repeatedly told investors that winning credible external foundry customers is essential to proving the business can stand on its own.
So far, Intel Foundry’s external client roster has been thin. Microsoft has committed to using Intel’s 18A process technology for custom chips, and the U.S. Department of Defense has signed on for secure domestic manufacturing. But no consumer electronics giant of Apple’s scale has publicly attached its name to Intel’s foundry ambitions. Landing even a portion of Apple’s chip orders would give Intel a reference customer that carries enormous weight with other potential clients considering whether to trust Intel’s manufacturing lines alongside TSMC and Samsung.
The signal value here may rival the direct revenue. Other chip designers evaluating Intel Foundry will inevitably ask: “If Apple is willing to fabricate there, what does that say about yield quality and process maturity?” That kind of credibility is difficult to buy and nearly impossible to fake.
What we still do not know
The most important unanswered question is which chips Apple plans to have Intel produce. The distinction is critical. If Intel is fabricating peripheral components like Wi-Fi modules, power management ICs, or other support silicon that does not require cutting-edge transistor density, the deal would be commercially meaningful but would not prove Intel can compete with TSMC on the most advanced nodes where Apple’s flagship A-series and M-series processors are built.
If, on the other hand, the agreement involves chips manufactured on Intel’s 18A process node, the technology Intel has been publicly marketing as its return to manufacturing leadership, the implications would be far more significant. Intel 18A uses gate-all-around transistor architecture and backside power delivery, features that Intel claims will make it competitive with TSMC’s most advanced offerings. No reporting has confirmed which process node applies to the Apple deal.
Volume commitments, revenue terms, and production timelines also remain undisclosed. Some accounts describe the arrangement as “preliminary,” while others indicate a “formal deal” was completed. These framings are not necessarily contradictory: a preliminary framework may have been followed by a binding contract once technical milestones were met. But the difference between a handshake-stage understanding and a firm production commitment matters for investors and supply chain planners trying to gauge Intel Foundry’s trajectory.
The TSMC question
Apple’s relationship with TSMC is one of the most consequential partnerships in the technology industry. TSMC fabricates virtually all of Apple’s custom-designed processors, and Apple is consistently TSMC’s largest customer, accounting for roughly a quarter of the Taiwanese company’s annual revenue. Nothing in the current reporting suggests Apple intends to move its highest-performance chips away from TSMC.
What the Intel deal more likely represents is a hedge. Apple has faced growing pressure to diversify its supply chain away from heavy concentration in Taiwan, where TSMC’s most advanced fabrication plants are located. Geopolitical tensions in the Taiwan Strait, pandemic-era supply disruptions, and Washington’s push for domestic chip production have all sharpened the case for spreading manufacturing risk across multiple partners and geographies.
For Apple, any move to a new fabrication partner carries real technical risk. Process differences between foundries can affect chip yields, clock speeds, power efficiency, and thermal performance, all factors that directly influence the user experience in iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Apple’s willingness to engage with Intel, even on a limited basis, suggests either confidence in Intel’s manufacturing roadmap or a strategic judgment that supply chain resilience justifies the engineering effort of qualifying a second source.
The policy backdrop
This deal did not happen in a vacuum. The U.S. government has made domestic semiconductor manufacturing a national priority through the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in August 2022. Intel has been among the most prominent beneficiaries: the Commerce Department announced approximately $7.86 billion in direct funding for Intel’s U.S. fabrication expansion, supporting new and upgraded plants in Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, and New Mexico.
Whether Apple’s decision to work with Intel was directly influenced by government incentives, informal encouragement from Washington, or purely commercial considerations is not clear from available reporting. But the alignment is hard to miss. A deal that pairs America’s most valuable company with its most prominent domestic chipmaker fits neatly into the industrial policy narrative that both the Biden and Trump administrations have promoted around semiconductor self-sufficiency.
For Intel, the policy tailwind is real but not unlimited. CHIPS Act funding comes with conditions, including restrictions on expanding advanced manufacturing in China and requirements to provide affordable child care for facility workers. Intel must also demonstrate that its foundry business can attract paying customers on commercial merit, not just government subsidy. The Apple deal, if it holds, would be the strongest evidence yet that Intel Foundry can do exactly that.
What to watch next
The clearest confirmation will come if either company acknowledges the arrangement during upcoming earnings calls or investor presentations. Intel’s next quarterly report will be closely scrutinized for any mention of a major new foundry customer, shifts in capital expenditure guidance, or references to capacity reservations tied to external clients. Apple is less likely to discuss manufacturing partners by name, but analysts will press on supply chain diversification strategy.
Over time, hardware teardowns of new Apple devices and independent supply chain checks by firms like TechInsights may reveal where specific chips are fabricated, providing physical evidence of Intel’s involvement. Industry watchers should also track whether other major chip designers follow Apple’s lead in engaging Intel Foundry. A single marquee customer can break the logjam of skepticism that has surrounded Intel’s contract manufacturing push since its inception.
As of late May 2025, the Apple-Intel manufacturing agreement remains significant but partly opaque: well-sourced enough to take seriously, too incomplete to fully evaluate. The details that emerge over the coming months will determine whether this is a turning point for Intel Foundry or a cautious, limited experiment that leaves the broader competitive landscape largely unchanged.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
