Apple and Intel have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to produce some chips for Apple devices, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources. People familiar with the matter said the two companies had been in talks for more than a year, but only settled on a formal agreement in recent months. It remains unclear which Apple devices would use Intel-made chips.
Intel, founded in 1968, was once America’s leading computer chip company, but it has lost ground to Nvidia and AMD during the Artificial Intelligence boom. Its foundry business, where it manufactures custom chips for outside clients, has also faced strong competition from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Apple has long been one of TSMC’s top customers, but rising demand for Artificial Intelligence chips has created supply pressure for the iPhone maker.
Intel is now in the middle of a comeback. Last month, the company reported that its first-quarter revenue grew 7% and expects next quarter to beat Wall Street expectations. A significant part of that momentum has been linked to deals encouraged by the Trump administration, which has pushed major technology companies to work with Intel.
Last summer, the administration announced that the U.S. government had acquired a 10% stake in Intel after Trump called for the resignation of CEO Lip-Bu Tan over alleged conflicts of interest. The Wall Street Journal reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has since met with the CEOs of Apple, Nvidia, and SpaceX to encourage partnerships with Intel. With the reported Apple agreement, all three companies have now made deals with Intel.
Nvidia announced in September that it was investing ? billion in a partnership where Intel is expected to make custom chips for Nvidia. In April, Intel also said it was joining Elon Musk’s Terafab project with SpaceX and Tesla. Trump described the government’s role in Intel by saying in January that the company sought help and that government involvement helped attract Apple, Nvidia, and other companies.
