[News] Intel Reportedly Sought Commerce Secretary Raimondo’s Help over U.S. Reliance on TSMC

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In a last-ditch effort before the upcoming board meeting this week, Intel is said to be seeking assistance from the U.S. government. The latest report by CNBC notes that Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger, turned to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently, expressing his disappointment with the heavy dependence of U.S. companies on TSMC, the Taiwanese foundry heavyweight.

According to CNBC, after meeting with Intel, Raimondo followed up by meeting with several public market investors to emphasize the significance of U.S. chip manufacturing amid the rising geopolitical risks surrounding Taiwan. Her aim was to encourage shareholders in companies like NVIDIA and Apple to understand the economic advantages of having a U.S.-based foundry capable of producing AI chips, the sources cited by the report said.

Interesting enough, Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, mentioned yesterday that the U.S. chip giant heavily relies on TSMC for producing its most important chips, saying TSMC’s agility and ability to respond to demand are incredible. Thus, shifting orders to other suppliers could reportedly lead to a decline in chip quality.

Intel has introduced its Lunar Lake processors in early September, with the target to shake up the AI PC market. However, the chips are outsourced to TSMC, manufactured with the foundry giant’s 3nm node.

Getting stuck in its current situation, Intel is said to be pushing U.S. officials to expedite the release of funding, another report by Bloomberg notes. Earlier in April, Intel and Biden administration announced up to USD 8.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS Act.

The company is slated to receive USD 8.5 billion in grants and USD 11 billion in loans under the 2022 Chips and Science Act, but this funding is contingent on meeting key milestones and undergoing extensive due diligence, according to Bloomberg. Therefore, like other potential beneficiaries, Intel has not yet received any money.

An official cited by CNBC said that disbursements are anticipated by the end of the year.

Both the U.S. Commerce Department and an Intel spokesperson declined to comment, according to CNBC.

Regarding the latest development of Intel’s plan to shedding more than 15% of its workforce, a report by CTech notes that Intel may lay off over 1,000 employees in Israel as global cuts begin.

CTech states that Intel has been mindful of geopolitical factors and the timing of local holidays in Israel. Therefore, it would be rather unexpected for the company to initiate layoffs in the country before or during the holiday season, which begins in early October and extends through most of the month.

Citing Gelsinger’s remarks, the report notes that the restructuring process will continue until the end of the year, allowing Intel’s Israeli branch a window of time to start the layoffs after the holidays.

Read more

• [News] CEO Jensen Huang Highlights Strong Demand, Stating that Everyone is Counting on NVIDIA
• [News] Intel Reportedly Outsources All Sub-3nm Process Production to TSMC

(Photo credit: Intel)