Apple has agreed to work with Intel to manufacture some of its chips in the United States, US President Trump said on Thursday.
Intel’s stock rose 9% in pre-market trading following Trump’s comments, which appeared in a social media post. Apple was up 0.6 percent in premarket trading.
Neither Apple nor Intel have officially commented on the deal, but The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement under which Intel would manufacture processors for Apple devices.
Intel would make chips based on Apple chip designs in the same way TSMC currently does. Previous rumors about Intel’s negotiations with Apple suggested that Intel could make some of the low-end processors used in Apple devices, including the low-end M-series chip used in some iPad and Mac models.
Before Apple adopted Apple silicon, the company used Intel-designed chips for its Macs, but there were continued delays at the chip level. Today, Apple designs its own Arm-based chips and has them manufactured by TSMC, giving it the freedom to roll out updates on a more predictable schedule.
Apple has never considered Intel as a supplier before, both because the chipmaker lags behind rivals like TSMC and Samsung and because of the checkered history between the two companies.
That picture could change under Lip-Bu Tan, who took over as CEO of Intel last year after the company ousted Pat Gelsinger, and has since pushed to turn around its ailing chipmaking arm. Tan’s efforts appear to be having the desired impact: the company’s shares have surged 464% over the past 12 months, with the company reaching a market capitalization of $608.7 billion. The U.S. government also took a 10% stake in Intel last year, converting $8.9 billion in unpaid Chips Act subsidies into stock.
Apple is trying to expand its supply chain, as TSMC – based in Taiwan – is currently its only Apple silicon manufacturer. During Apple’s latest earnings conference call, CEO Tim Cook said that iPhone 17 supply was limited during the quarter because the company was unable to obtain enough A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC.
With the AI boom driving massive demand for AI servers, TSMC has less capacity to devote to consumer device chips. This leaves Apple with a weaker hand when it comes to securing production slots.
