March 25 - Intel (INTC, Financial) is making bold moves under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, with a renewed focus on chip design and expanding its foundry business. UBS analysts say the company is working to lock in big names like Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) and Broadcom (AVGO, Financial) as customers, which could be a major win for its manufacturing ambitions.
Analyst Timothy Arcuri said that Nvidia seems to be the closer bet, potentially tapping into Intel's 18A process for gaming chips. But power consumption remains a challenge, which Intel hopes to solve with a lower-power version called 18AP. Broadcom is still in talks, but Nvidia is reportedly the top priority.
He further stated that Intel is also stepping up its packaging game, improving its Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge technology to better compete with Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM, Financial) and its CoWoS-L platform. If successful, this could make Intel's foundry business more appealing to major clients.
Meanwhile, its partnership with United Microelectronics (UMC, Financial) is gaining traction, with production possibly moving up to late 2026. That could make Intel and UMC a strong alternative to Taiwan Semiconductor for high-voltage FinFET manufacturing.
Intel plans to share more updates at its Direct Connect event on April 29, yet no confirmation has been given.
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