Intel goes after TSMC's foundry market share by branching into Arm chips and focusing on U.S. manufacturing

Intel core promotional image from the intel newsroom
Intel is branching out to make Arm chips. (Image credit: Intel)

What you need to know

  • In an interview with Tom's Hardware, Intel Foundry Services Head Stu Pann discussed Intel's plan to fight for market share in the foundry market. 
  • Intel Foundry Services is working with Faraday to develop a 64-core 18A processor using the Arm Neoverse design. 
  • Stu Pann says they want to offer foundry services in more geographical locations than competitors, especially within the U.S.

Arm is all the rage right now; with our recent report that upcoming Surface devices will have an Arm variant, as well as the Xbox leak from last year that the next generation of Xbox might be Arm-based, it seems the entire world is shifting towards Arm. 

With Intel being open to building Arm chips, Microsoft looking to integrate Arm with its in-house hardware projects, and the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite possibly making waves in the PC SOC market, Arm is set for a huge awakening in 2024.  

Intel's vision for foundry 

Intel foundry services plants are now building Arm chips.  (Image credit: Intel)

During the IFS direct connect, Intel described how they want to be vital to the foundry market. They want to be the #2 Foundry by 2030 and become a resilient Foundry that can withstand supply chain disruptions due to geopolitical issues and wars going on around the world. Intel even stated that semiconductors are the new oil of geopolitics and hinted that the world will fight over silicon in the future as they have fought over oil for the last 50 years.  

Intel wants to rebalance the semiconductors from 80% in Asia closer to 50% in the Americas/Europe and 50% in Asia. 

This goes hand in hand with what was mentioned by Stu Pann in the interview with Tom's Hardware. 

"A lot of customers want at least a ‘Made in the Americas’ kind of setup. And if we do a wafer fab in the US for an 18A logic device, for example, we can package something in the Americas in its entirety without having to have it cross the Pacific Ocean."

Intel is looking for effective ways to bring most of its manufacturing closer to the Americas in an effort to have a dependable supply chain. 

Intel and Arm, the future seems symbiotic. 

During the IFS direct connect, Arm CEO Rene Hass discussed that it feels like they are strange bedfellows, and it feels odd to be working together with Intel. However, the world seems to be getting past the idea of exclusive hardware and instead wants to build the most efficient chips for large companies like Microsoft or Faraday to power AI data centers. 

"We recognize that Arm has won a lot of sockets, and we want to work with them closely to make sure that whatever they do with Neoverse is optimized for 18A.

Stu Pann

The Arm Neoverse V3 is 50% faster than the Neoverse V2, which is used in data centers. The N3 Neoverse is 20% faster, but most importantly, they are much more efficient. 

Rene Hass said, "When you think about these AI data centers which are pulling hundreds of megawatts and more, efficiency matters."

With Intel's impressive 18A process node, it seems that both Intel and Arm want to ensure that the two companies benefit from the advancements the other side is making.

Where does Intel go from here?

Intel wants to be the world's #2 Foundry by 2023. (Image credit: Intel)

Intel is making the smart play and has the backing of the United States government as well. They were able to get the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to attend the Intel IFS Direct Connect 2024 and discuss the United States's interest in having more chip manufacturing in the country as part of the CHIPS Act. This is a huge indicator of the importance of Intel's long-term strategy in offering a reliable supply chain to the western world as geopolitics continue to spiral toward negative realities. 

By swallowing their pride, both Intel and Arm CEOs stand in a much better situation now than they did when they were stark enemies. While they are still competing in the same space, they are now working together to try to produce the most powerful, efficient chips to meet the demand for AI, as chip production lags far behind the needs seen in the world today. 

Intel recently announced its newest customer Microsoft, who will be using Intel to make homegrown chips for its needs and these are the types of partnerships that will help Intel win back some market share. 

TOPICS
CATEGORIES
Colton Stradling
Contributor

Colton is a seasoned cybersecurity professional that wants to share his love of technology with the Windows Central audience. When he isn’t assisting in defending companies from the newest zero-days or sharing his thoughts through his articles, he loves to spend time with his family and play video games on PC and Xbox. Colton focuses on buying guides, PCs, and devices and is always happy to have a conversation about emerging tech and gaming news. 

Read more
MSI Claw 8 AI+ on a stand and running a Sonic game.
Intel says PC gaming handhelds are its "number one priority" — can Arrow/Panther Lake chips challenge AMD's dominance?
Intel research and development office in Matam business park in Haifa.
Intel stock soars almost 25% in one week after JD Vance' new comments on the chip maker's AI future, as the US and UK refuse to sign the Paris AI summit's regulation decree
Intel Core Ultra Series 2 HX
Overclockable AI CPUs? Intel's new flagship mobile chips offer a massive boost over previous generations.
The badge for the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X platform.
Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X shakes up the $600 Windows laptop market, brings AI to everyone — Here's why Intel should be worried
The MSI Prestige 16 AI Evo (B2HMG) with Intel Core Ultra 9 285H inside.
Intel Core Ultra 9 285H review: Keeping up with AMD... Mostly
ASUS Zenbook S 14 with Intel Core Ultra (Series 2)
Microsoft stacks Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel and AMD chips against (last year's) MacBooks in updated benchmarks
Latest in Hardware
Surface Pro 11
Microsoft’s smaller Surface Pro appears in certification database ahead of rumored launch this spring
Lenovo 16" IdeaPad Laptop on a man's lap and displaying a video call.
Today only, this 16" Lenovo laptop is more than 50% off and comes with Microsoft 365 — Access Word, PowerPoint, and more
Intel booth at MWC Barcelona 2025
Intel's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, will deliver a keynote speech to enterprise audiences at Vision 2025 — Streamed live on YouTube
AMD Ryzen 5 5500
This 1080p gaming CPU is down to $76 — it doesn't get much better for budget PC builders
Acer Swift 14 AI on a table and displaying background.
An $800 Snapdragon X Elite laptop is the best reason not to bother buying a MacBook Air
Gigabyte RTX 5080
NVIDIA's RTX 5080 is in stock at Newegg, but you won't like the new pricing
Latest in News
Surface Pro 11
Microsoft’s smaller Surface Pro appears in certification database ahead of rumored launch this spring
Artificial intelligence mobile apps for DeepSeek, ChatGPT and Google Gemini arranged.
Google says its latest reasoning model is its "most intelligent" — but Microsoft's CEO claims Google already fumbled its AI opportunity
ChatGPT and Microsoft Logo
ChatGPT’s new image-generation tool is impressive; it can finally create a glass of wine filled to the brim — but it struggles with blank white images and appears to discriminate against 'sexy women'
Microsoft Edge Sidebar
My favorite Microsoft Edge feature just got an AI upgrade — is this the best way to use Copilot on Windows 11?
Professor Sir Roger Penrose, physicist, mathematician and cosmologist
Nobel laureate claims "AI will not be conscious" and shouldn't be considered intelligent — Until it develops its own ideas
UGreen x Genshin Impact charging accessories: image shows magnetic wireless charger, power bank, GaN charger and USB-C cable
UGreen drops a stunning Genshin Impact collection of charging accessories AND it's all on sale
  • naddy69
    Intel building Arm chips makes WAY more sense than the absurd story here a few months ago that said Microsoft was thinking about building nuclear power plants(!?!?) near its AI data centers to meet the power demands of AI centers running on Intel chips.

    That was possibly the dumbest, most short-sighted idea I have ever seen. :rolleyes:
    Reply