Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following
Why Ranks Sign Up
Apple and Intel partner on U.S. chip production

Apple and Intel partner on U.S. chip production

Built World

Apple moves to make some chips with Intel inside the U.S., loosening its long reliance on Taiwan's TSMC

2 days ago: Trump announces the Apple-Intel partnership

Overview

For almost two decades, the most advanced chips inside iPhones and Macs have been etched in Taiwan. On June 18, 2026, President Trump said Apple has agreed to design and build some of those chips with Intel, on U.S. soil.

Neither company confirmed the scope, timing, or price. But the direction is clear: Apple is testing a second source beyond Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and Intel, in which the U.S. government holds a 10% stake, gets the marquee customer it has chased for years.

Why it matters

Apple's chips set the pace for the whole industry. Where they get built shapes U.S. manufacturing, Taiwan's leverage, and Intel's survival.

Questions about this story

0

Has Intel or Apple reported this, or just Trump?

As of June 18, 2026, only Trump has announced this — neither Apple nor Intel has confirmed the deal.

Why it matters: A presidential announcement without company confirmation is the norm under this administration, but it leaves the scope, timing, and commercial terms officially unknown.

  • Trump posted the announcement on Truth Social on June 18; both Apple and Intel have declined to confirm terms.
  • The Wall Street Journal first reported a preliminary agreement on May 8, 2026 — also unconfirmed by either company — which sent Intel shares up sharply.
  • Tom's Hardware headlined it directly: 'neither company confirms deal as Intel share price rockets' after Trump's post.
  • Intel's June 16 VLSI Symposium appearance framed the Apple relationship as still a 'possible deal,' not a done one.
Room for disagreement
  • Some outlets treat the May WSJ report of a 'preliminary agreement' as evidence the deal is essentially done; others note Apple habitually keeps supplier relationships secret until products ship, so silence is not denial.
  • Trump has a direct financial motive here — the U.S. government holds a 10% stake in Intel — which gives some analysts reason to treat his unilateral announcement with more skepticism than a neutral third-party report.
AI-generated with web search — may be wrong. Check the linked sources.

Key Indicators

+9%
Intel stock jump
Intel shares rose about 9% in premarket trading after Trump's announcement.
10%
U.S. government stake in Intel
Washington took a 10% equity stake in Intel in August 2025.
$8.9B
Government investment in Intel
The stake came from $8.9 billion, largely repurposed CHIPS Act and Secure Enclave funds.
$500B
Apple U.S. investment pledge
Apple committed $500 billion to U.S. operations in 2025, later adding $100 billion.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

Sign up to generate historical perspectives on this story.

Play

Exploring all sides of a story is often best achieved with Play.

Log in to play. Track your picks, climb the leaderboards. Log in Sign Up
Predict 4 ways this could play out. Contrarian picks score more — points lock when the scenario resolves. Log in to play
Higher or Lower Two numbers from this story. Guess which is bigger. 5 rounds to set a streak. Log in to play
Timeline Five events from this story — drag them oldest to newest. Log in to play
Connections Sixteen names from the news. Find the four hidden groups of four. Log in to play

People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

February 2025 June 2026

5 events Latest: 2 days ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Trump announces the Apple-Intel partnership

    Latest Statement

    Trump says on Truth Social that Apple will design and build chips with Intel in the U.S. Intel stock rose about 9% premarket. Neither company confirmed terms.

  2. Intel's 18A process enters risk production

    Technology

    At the VLSI Symposium, Intel says its 18A manufacturing process has entered risk production, an early stage before full volume output.

  3. WSJ reports a preliminary Apple-Intel deal

    Report

    The Wall Street Journal reports the two companies reached a preliminary chip-making agreement after more than a year of talks. Intel shares jumped on the news.

  4. U.S. government takes 10% stake in Intel

    Policy

    Washington buys 433.3 million Intel shares for $8.9 billion, funded largely by repurposed CHIPS Act grants, becoming Intel's largest shareholder.

  5. Apple pledges $500 billion U.S. investment

    Business

    Apple commits to $500 billion in U.S. operations over four years, later adding another $100 billion.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 2020

Apple drops Intel for its own chips (2020)

Apple announced it would stop using Intel processors in Macs and switch to its own Apple Silicon, built by TSMC. The first M1 Macs shipped that November. It ended a 14-year partnership in which Intel chips powered every Mac.

Then

Apple's in-house chips drew praise for speed and battery life, and Macs gained market share.

Now

Intel lost a high-profile customer and its reputation for manufacturing leadership eroded further.

Why this matters now

The two firms now discussing a partnership are the same ones whose split in 2020 underlined Intel's decline. A deal would reverse that history.

2022-2024

TSMC builds fabs in Arizona under the CHIPS Act (2022)

Backed by U.S. CHIPS Act subsidies, TSMC committed tens of billions of dollars to advanced chip plants in Arizona. The effort aimed to bring leading-edge production onto U.S. soil for the first time in years.

Then

Construction faced delays, cost overruns, and worker shortages, pushing back production timelines.

Now

It showed that reshoring advanced chipmaking is slow and expensive, even with heavy subsidies.

Why this matters now

It is a reminder that announcing U.S. chip production is easy, but matching Taiwan's yields and timelines is hard.

August 2018

GlobalFoundries quits the leading edge (2018)

GlobalFoundries, once part of AMD, abandoned development of its most advanced 7-nanometer process, citing the enormous cost. It chose to focus on older, cheaper chip technologies instead.

Then

AMD shifted its advanced chip production to TSMC, deepening TSMC's lead.

Now

The retreat left TSMC and Samsung as the only firms competing at the frontier, until Intel's recent push.

Why this matters now

It shows how few companies can afford cutting-edge chipmaking, and how high the bar is for Intel to win Apple's most advanced work.

Sources

(6)