By Emily Bary
Reuters reports that TSMC has approached Nvidia, Broadcom and others about a joint venture that would run Intel’s factories. But that arrangement would face some roadblocks.
The latest hope for Intel Corp. investors is the prospect of a joint venture in which some of the hottest semiconductor companies would take partial stakes in Intel’s struggling foundry business.
Reuters reported Wednesday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) has reached out to Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) about the possibility of this joint venture, in which manufacturing giant TSMC would run Intel’s (INTC) foundry operations but limit its ownership to less than half of the business. Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) was also approached on the proposal, according to the report.
“For some time, we’ve advocated that such a JV would be the best option for [Intel], since we didn’t think [Intel] had the ability to load their fabs on their own,” Wolfe Research analyst Chris Caso wrote. “We think a partnership with TSMC would represent the highest probability and lowest risk toward loading the fabs, if the technical challenges associated with running TSMC processes at [Intel] fabs could be surmounted.”
Intel’s stock is up 4% in Wednesday afternoon action, with the Reuters report serving as one more chapter in a rescue saga that has taken the shares on a wild ride.
The stock is down more than 50% over the past year as Intel has dealt with steep losses in its manufacturing business and missed out on the artificial-intelligence wave with its design business. But it has outperformed the S&P 500 SPX so far in 2025, largely given Wall Street’s hopes for outside assistance. Intel’s stock is up about 3% on a year-to-date basis, while the S&P 500 has fallen 4%.
Intel, TSMC, Nvidia and Qualcomm declined to comment on the Reuters report. Representatives from AMD and Broadcom didn’t respond to a MarketWatch request for comment. The story said TSMC’s discussions were still at an early stage.
Given challenges in Intel’s design and manufacturing businesses, investors this year seemed to like the idea of a takeover or some other development that would give Intel a cushion. Earlier reports suggested Broadcom might be interested in Intel’s design operations or that TSMC might look to take over some portion of the company’s chipmaking factories. But the breakup hopes had somewhat diminished more recently after Broadcom’s chief executive brushed off a question on the topic during last week’s earnings call and as TSMC pledged earlier this month to spend $100 billion on new chip production in the United States.
One issue for a standalone Intel is that President Donald Trump has voiced opposition to the CHIPS Act, a Biden-era grant program meant to bolster domestic chipmaking operations. Still, Intel is relatively unique among U.S. chip companies in that it not only designs chips but also owns the plants to manufacture them for itself and other industry players. That means the Trump administration is interested in the company’s success, according to the Reuters report.
Read: Trump hates the Biden-era Chips Act. What’s next for semiconductor stocks.
That said, there could also be roadblocks to the sort of arrangement outlined in the Reuters story. The government may be skeptical of too much foreign involvement in Intel’s manufacturing business, as TSMC is based in Taiwan. In addition, the two companies use different process technologies for their manufacturing.
-Emily Bary
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03-12-25 1402ET
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