Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary understanding so that the Santa Clara company can manufacture some of the chips that power the iPhone maker's devices in the United States. The move, still in its initial stages, fits into the United States' industrial push to bring back advanced semiconductor production.
The agreement, revealed by several US media outlets citing people familiar with the conversationsIt does not yet specify which Apple product lines will be affected or which processor generations Intel will manufacture. Even so, it represents a significant shift in the Cupertino company's supply chain, which until now has been heavily reliant on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
An agreement reached after more than a year of intense negotiations
According to leaks, Apple and Intel have maintained constant contact for more than a year, with repeated meetings and parallel political pressure, until recently closing a framework for collaboration that is described as preliminary but already formalized between the parties.
Sources indicate that the agreement lays the groundwork for Intel to produce certain key chips for Apple in plants located in the United States, although specific volumes, schedules, and product lines will be announced later. In any case, these would be high-value-added processors, linked to devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
In recent months, the specialized press had reported that Apple was sounding out both Intel and Samsung to diversify its processor manufacturing in the United States. The new agreement with Intel would be, for now, the most tangible move in that diversification strategy.
The dynamics of the sector itself explain part of this urgency: the demand for advanced chips It has skyrocketed due to the rise of artificial intelligence, data centers, and connected devicesThis puts strain on the capacity of large semiconductor manufacturers and increases the risk of bottlenecks.
For a company the size of Apple, which sells hundreds of millions of iPhones each year, in addition to iPads and Mac computers, a major change in its chip suppliers has systemic effects across the entire technology industry, from machinery manufacturers to material suppliers.
Washington promotes local semiconductor manufacturing
This rapprochement between Apple and Intel cannot be understood without the political context. The US administration has made the relocation of chip production a strategic priority, both for economic and national security reasons.
Programs like the CHIPS Act have channeled billions of dollars in grants and incentives to strengthen the production capacity of companies like Intel within the United States. The stated objective is to reduce dependence on Asia, and in particular Taiwan, for advanced manufacturing processes.
In this environment, the US government has become directly involved to attract large technology clients to domestic foundries. Administration officials have held meetings with senior Apple executives, as well as with executives from other major technology companies, to encourage them to outsource production to Intel.
Sources cited by the American press indicate that the Executive considers Intel a strategic asset for the industrial autonomy of the United StatesBeyond its shareholding or already committed subsidies, the underlying idea is clear: without local capacity to manufacture next-generation chips, the digital economy and military capabilities would be vulnerable.
The preliminary alliance with Apple would therefore fit into a roadmap where Washington hopes that the large smelting contracts remain on US soil, both for domestic consumption and for export to other markets, including Europe.
Immediate impact on markets: Intel's historic rally
The leak of the agreement was met with enthusiasm on the stock exchanges. After the first reports were published, the Intel shares saw double-digit gains, with gains ranging between 13% and 17% in different sessions, reaching new all-time highs in trading.
This jump extends an upward rally that the company has been experiencing since the beginning of the year, driven by the manufacturing business recovery narrative and due to its growing exposure to the demand for chips for artificial intelligence and servers.
Investors interpret the potential Apple deal as a validation sign for the Intel's strategy to reposition itself as a foundry for third parties, after years in which it had lost technological ground to TSMC and Samsung in cutting-edge processes.
Meanwhile, Apple also saw a gain on the stock market, albeit a much more moderate one, of around 1,7%-2%. The market is reacting positively to the fact that the Cupertino-based group can expand your supplier base and reduce their vulnerability to potential problems in a single factory or region.
For Intel, which has also recently closed deals with other major US technology companies, the agreement with Apple could become one of the most important contracts of its new phase as a contract manufacturer.
Apple is trying to reduce its dependence on TSMC and the geopolitical risks
For Apple, the move responds to a concern shared by many Western companies: concentration of risk in Taiwan, the epicenter of the world's advanced chip manufacturing through TSMC.
TSMC remains the benchmark in cutting-edge nodes and has been for more than a decade the exclusive supplier of Apple's most advanced processorsFrom the A-series chips for iPhones to the Apple Silicon families for Macs, Apple has been a major player in the tech industry. However, tensions between China and Taiwan have raised the level of alert among governments and corporations.
In addition, TSMC must attend to a growing avalanche of orders from AI companies like Nvidia or AMD, which limits Apple's room for maneuver when negotiating additional capacity or priority in supply.
In public forums, Apple CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged that the company has suffered supply restrictions on certain productsEspecially in iPhones and Macs, these issues are linked to a shortage of advanced components. The agreement with Intel is interpreted as an attempt to gain a safety margin in the medium and long term.
Producing some of the chips in the United States would not only bring a portion of the manufacturing process physically closer to the North American market, but also It would align Apple's interests with Washington's industrial priorities.This could be useful in a context of stricter regulation of large technology companies.
Intel's role: from rival in Macs to strategic partner in chips
The relationship between Apple and Intel has gone through several phases. For years, Mac computers They installed Intel processors based on x86 architectureuntil 2020 when Apple began the transition to its own chips designed in-house and manufactured by TSMC under the Apple brand. Apple silicon.
That change effectively meant Intel's exit from the Mac market, but it laid the foundation for a new era in which the Santa Clara company has gone refocusing its business towards contract casting, instead of simply producing chips that she designs herself for her own product lines.
Under the leadership of its current top management, Intel is investing heavily in new plants and advanced node manufacturing processes in the United States and Europe. These investments are supported, in part, by public aid such as that provided by the US CHIPS Act and the European Chips Act in the European Union.
The company seeks to regain lost ground to Asian rivals by demonstrating its ability to mass-produce next-generation chips for demanding clients like Apple. An agreement of this magnitude would serve them as top-tier credential in the global foundry market.
The potential contract with Apple would add to other alliances that Intel has been forging with major names in the technology sector, with the aim of filling the capacity of the factories it is building and capitalize on the wave of demand linked to artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Implications for Europe and Spain in the new geography of chips
Although the agreement is structured around production in the United States, the movement has Clear reading for Europe and, by extension, for Spain, in the midst of a race to gain weight in the semiconductor value chain.
The European Union has been promoting its own framework of aid to the chip industry for months with the European Chips ActIntel aims to double its global production share and attract significant investment in advanced factories. Intel is part of this strategy, with projects in countries such as Germany and Ireland.
If Intel's strategy to become a large contract manufacturer It is consolidating its position thanks to clients like Apple, so it is reasonable to think that some of that capacity will also be supported by plants located in Europe, which would open up additional options for the European market.
For Spain, which aims to attract investments related to design, advanced packaging and high value-added electronicsThe global reconfiguration of the chip supply chain presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The availability of production within the European Union could facilitate industrial projects related to automotive, telecommunications, and IoT devices.
At the same time, Apple's decision to diversify beyond Taiwan sends a clear message to the entire ecosystem: relying on a single supplier or a single region is increasingly risky. This logic of risk diversification This is applicable to European companies, including Spanish ones, that rely on semiconductors for their products and services.
Ultimately, the preliminary agreement between Apple and Intel acts as a symptom of a structural changeMajor technology players and governments are redrawing the map of where critical components of the digital economy are designed and manufactured, with effects that will eventually be felt on this side of the Atlantic as well.
What is known so far paints a picture in which Apple gains ground against geopolitical risks, Intel gets a decisive boost for its bet as a foundry, and Washington reaffirms its strategy of regaining industrial muscle in semiconductors; meanwhile, Europe observes these movements with interest, aware that the new global distribution of chip manufacturing will mark a good part of the technological competitiveness of the United States, the EU, and partners like Spain in the coming years.
