Intel

Intel just put 5 billion and an asterisk on the table

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Europe has been trying for years gain weight on the world map of semiconductors. It is not just about manufacturing more chips, but about reducing dependence on supply chains concentrated outside the continent and regaining ground in the most advanced processes. The United States pursues a similar objective and has reinforced its efforts to attract investmentsfactories and jobs linked to strategic technologies. This industrial race has left a striking scene: one of the largest American companies in the sector has decided to bet billions on expanding its production on European soil. That company is Intel, that has announced an investment of 5,000 million euros to expand and modernize its Leixlip complex, in Ireland. The goal is to increase production of Xeon 6 processors and certain upcoming Xeon products made with Intel 3, the most advanced process the company currently produces in Europe. The move, however, comes after the manufacturer canceled its industrial projects in Germany and Poland. The European Union reinforces its production, but the fine print forces us to clarify how far this victory really goes. More capacity in Ireland, but a European chain still incomplete The core of the plan is not to build a new factory or expand the clean room, but to better equip Fab 34, Upgrade your facilities and extend your automated network that moves the wafers during the numerous stages of the production process. This infrastructure will allow the different modules of the campus to be integrated more fluidly and increase the efficiency of the whole. Intel began rolling out the program in early 2026, although it has not detailed when it will complete the improvements. The expected result is a greater volume manufactured with Intel 3 taking advantage of the existing space. Fab 34 began full-scale production in 2023 and turned Leixlip into Intel’s large European advanced manufacturing center. The installation was born working with Intel 4, used in the first Core Ultra, and later incorporated Intel 3 for the Xeon processors. Both technologies use extreme ultraviolet lithography, known as EUV, to print smaller, more complex structures on wafers. When it began its activity, Fab 34 became the first European factory to use this technique in high-volume production. Main entrance to the Robert N. Noyce Building, Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California The expected increase responds, according to Intel, to greater demand for server processors and infrastructure linked to artificial intelligence. Although GPUs and accelerators attract much of the attention, data centers still need CPU to run general loadsmanage resources and maintain the platforms on which these specialized systems work. The Xeons occupy precisely that space within their catalog. Expanding the volume of Intel 3 would allow us to better supply that market without waiting for a new plant to be ready. The disbursement also comes after a major financial pivot around Fab 34. In 2024, Apollo contributed $11.2 billion and acquired 49% of a joint venture tied to the facility’s production, although Intel maintained ownership and operational control of the factory. The company repurchased that stake in April 2026 for $14.2 billion. Three months later, it again commits capital to the Irish infrastructure after recovering 100% of that company. Intel’s European bet had been much more ambitious. The company introduced Fab 34 as one piece of a future chain that would combine wafer production in Ireland with two new advanced factories in Magdeburg, Germany, and an assembly and testing facility in Wrocław, Poland. That deployment was to cover within the Union several of the main stages necessary to convert a wafer into a finished processor. The projects were postponed in 2024 and definitively abandoned a year later, when Intel decided to adjust its investments to expected demand. The 5,000 million asterisk appears there. Europe will be able to manufacture a greater volume of advanced wafers, but it will still not have the complete framework that Intel had promised to build within the EU. The company maintains its main assembly and testing operations in the United States and Asia, after canceling the Polish facility that was to cover those stages. Leixlip reduces some of the external dependence, although it does not by itself convert Xeon production into a fully European chain. Images | Intel In Xataka | SK Hynix is ​​betting that the memory cycle is dead. He proves it by doing just what always killed him.

Honor’s new 16-inch laptop weighs only 1.64 kg and debuts the latest generation of Intel chips

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The market of laptops focused on productivity just received an important announcement. If you are looking for a generous screen to work comfortably but you are horrified by the idea of ​​carrying a heavy device, the Honor company has a new proposal. The launch of the Honor MagicBook 16 2026a device specifically designed to balance mobility, autonomy and cutting-edge performance. Its price is 1,199 euros (with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A very light laptop with an 80 Wh battery The main attraction of this model lies in having advanced technical specifications in an aluminum chassis with a sandblasted finish that measures just 15.9 mm thick and weighs only 1.64 kg. Integrate the new processor Intel Core Ultra 5 325manufactured using the Intel 18A process. This chip distributes its tasks across four high-performance cores and four efficiency cores. Furthermore, for avoid performance drops in multitasking or 4K video editingincorporates a cooling system with a large fan, a heat pipe D12 and enlarged dissipation fins. His 16 inch panel It has WQXGA resolution, a screen-to-body ratio of 92.5% and a fluid refresh rate of 120 Hz. In addition, it adds AI Defocus Display technology to reduce visual fatigue through optical simulation. It has an 80 Wh battery optimized with Honor Turbo autonomy greater than 14 hours in office tasks. The included charger is type GaN with 65W of power and offers support for PPS reverse charging up to 60W. This laptop has the SGS resistance certification Exceptional Reliability. Also, your keyboard has IPX2 certification against splashes thanks to an internal drainage system that diverts liquids away from critical components. Lastly, it can be mentioned that uses the Honor WorkStation platformwhich facilitates file synchronization and multi-screen collaboration with smartphones and tablets of the brand itself. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: honor magicbook 16 2016 laptop ✅ THE BEST Lightness in large format– Achieving a weight of 1.64 kg in a 16-inch size greatly facilitates daily transport in any backpack or briefcase. Peace of mind in case of accidents: The IPX2 keyboard drainage system reduces the risk of breakage due to accidental drops of coffee or water. ❌ THE WORST Unique color range… Initially it has been put on sale only in a single color (gray Starry Gray). Exclusive focus on productivity… By not equipping dedicated gaming graphics cards, its performance is aimed at professional work, content creation and office automation. 💡 BUY IT IF… You work remotely, create content, or require ample screen display space but require a lightweight, durable chassis to move around frequently. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Are you looking for a computer for purely entertainment purposes to run cutting-edge video games with high graphical load? Other 16-inch laptops that might interest you acer Aspire 16 AI Copilot+ PC A16-52M The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Lenovo Thinkbook 16 – 16” WUXGA Laptop The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Honor In Xataka | Best ultrabooks. Which one to buy and 11 recommended light laptops from 500 to 2,000 euros In Xataka | Best gaming laptops. Which one to buy and eight recommended computers from 770 to 3,000 euros

ByteDance has decided that Intel and AMD are too expensive. So you’re going to make your own CPUs

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ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has been purchasing the processors it needs for its data centers from Intel and AMD for many years. He’s going to stop doing it. And this Chinese company has decided that this model has just come to an end. According to Reutersis already developing its own processors with the purpose of supporting its infrastructure. artificial intelligence (IA) in response to a combination of supply shortages and price increases that have made dependence on external suppliers unsustainable. The increases are not marginal: Intel and AMD have raised their rates between 10% and 35% quarter by quarter in recent months, a pressure that is difficult to bear for a company that plans to invest around $22.8 billion in AI infrastructure during 2026. However, the underlying trigger is not only the price. The industry is experiencing a structural change in the way AI is used because it has left behind the phase of mass training of models dominated by Nvidia GPUs to enter into the age of inference. That type of workload demands much more from the CPUs, which work in tandem with the GPUs and have become the new bottleneck of AI. The most immediate consequence of this scenario is a shortage of processors that Intel and AMD are not able to meet. In fact, the company led by Lip-Bu Tan has warned its Chinese customers, again according to Reutersthat their delivery times are going to be extended up to six months. And Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, has declared that the global CPU market is stressed and the situation is not going to improve in the short term. ByteDance has two weapons: Arm and RISC-V The strategy that ByteDance has developed involves developing two architectures in parallel: one based on Arm and another on RISC-V, the open source standard that China has embraced with great interest precisely because of its independence from Western licenses. Designing two variants simultaneously is not at all a symptom of indecision: it responds to the usual coverage of large technology companies before committing to large-scale production of a specific proposal. In 2024 ByteDance partnered with Broadcom to design a custom AI accelerator and manufacture it with TSMC’s 5nm lithography ByteDance has been hiring talent specialized in chips since 2022. In 2024 it partnered with Broadcom to design a custom AI accelerator and manufacture it using TSMC’s 5nm lithography, known as the SeedChip. Its mass production is planned for this year. However, the CPU it is developing is a different piece of the puzzle: a general-purpose processor for servers and not a specialized accelerator. Even so, both initiatives point in the same direction: they pursue reduce dependence on external suppliers in a context in which US export restrictions and market volatility make this dependence increasingly costly. This moment is also relevant because of what is happening at the other end of the market. Nvidia has built its dominance on GPUs, but is now entering the CPU market with your Vera processors with the intention of capturing an additional $200 billion market. In March it also presented an inference system developed with Groq technology in a clear attempt to consolidate its positions before the fragmentation of the AI ​​chip market reduces its share. Be that as it may, ByteDance for the moment continues to depend on Nvidia for its GPUs, although it is already playing on that same board with its own cards. Image | Intel More information | Reuters In Xataka | The condemnation that afflicts China: after decades of manufacturing a competitive desktop processor, it is six years behind

Nvidia has just presented the definitive chip against Intel and AMD. There is a problem: Windows

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The Nvidia processor for PC is the “the wolf is coming” of consumer technology. The company has been the reference for years in GPUs for gamers and flirted with SoCs thanks to the Tegra chips (which are what give life to both nintendo switch like to nintendo switch 2), but for computers they still couldn’t find a way to get equipment with 100% Nvidia guts. That just changed with the presentation of RTX Spark chips. It is a SoC that directly attacks the binomial Windows PC = Intel or AMD CPUone that is positioned as the alternative to those traditional options and that is specifically designed to compete for the heart of the consumer PC. Specifically, for laptops. Now, although Microsoft and Nvidia have been generating excitement for a few days and pointing out that it is the new era of the PC, there is a problem. Windows. The brake is no longer silicon, it could be Windows The theory is very interesting. RTX Spark combines a CPU Grace up to 20 cores that it has developed together with MediaTek (this is curious) with an RTX Blackwell GPU with 6,144 cores. TSMC (how could it not be otherwise) has given life to chip in a 3 nanometer lithography. Not only is it powerful, but it has up to 128 GB of unified memory (the same design that we see in Apple Silicon) and an interface NVLink which allows communication between RAM, CPU and GPU to be very, very fast. Nvidia talks about rendering heavy 3D scenes on laptops, running models with 120 billion parameters, and at the same time running games at 1,440p above 100 FPS with DLSS and ray tracing. The best? That Jensen Huang stood out at the Computex conference showing this in very thin and light laptops. It is the same strategy that Qualcomm follows. own Microsoft has already presented a Surface with RTX Spark and it is an architecture that makes a lot of sense in the universe of current light but powerful laptops… and also in desktop computers like a mac mini or of a mac studio. And, compared to the more traditional PC industry, the GPU is estimated to be in the range of a RTX 5070 for laptops. In the absence of testing it, it is undeniable that it looks good and that, although there are data that are not so favorable (such as bandwidth when compared to the most powerful Apple), it is a good addition to a segment in which, if we left the Intel/AMD duo, the only one that was trying was Qualcomm with devices like the Snapdragon X Elite. And there is the key: RTX Spark, like Qualcomm chips, is focused on being the heart of a Windows that is at its brightest. Because RTX Spark is a chip with ARM architecture and, although in office tasks Windows ARM It moves well, under more demanding tasks is when it begins to not be up to par. Microsoft’s system, which they themselves know is not at its best level of popularity due to the whole issue of AI features, has many shortcomings in its ARM version when it comes to gaming, precisely what Nvidia is promoting. It is also not the best optimized on laptop computers, something that is being seen with type machines. Steam Deck. The heart of the new Surface We are seeing it in recent years with PC-console asus, MSI either Lenovo: The hardware is good, but Windows drags down the experience significantly. The paradox is that the Steam Deck, being the least capable on paper, is usually more recommended precisely because it avoids Windows and relies on a system much more fine-tuned for that format. With RTX Spark, the two companies say they have been working for a long time to solve those problems and make this time, Windows on an ARM chip feel different with support for games with anticheat and native for personal agents. We will see in practice what ends up arriving, but two things are clear here. The first is that Microsoft gains aggressive hardware to compete face to face against Apple in the field of very powerful laptops with long battery life. The second is that Qualcomm is no longer alone in that corral and now it will be very interesting to see what hardware it responds with. Because Nvidia already has the chip, the CUDA ecosystem and agreements with all manufacturers, as well as the support of the giant TSMC. The “weak” link, therefore, is not silicon, it is a Windows on ARM that has improved a lot in recent yearsbut that is the element that will have the most to prove. In Xataka | Graphic muscle for Windows and a slam of the door on Android: the exclusivity toll that Nvidia demands with its new ARM architecture

Nvidia has just launched its missile against Intel AMD’s dominance in PCs and laptops. There is a problem: it is a slightly obsolete missile

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In October 2025 Nvidia launched its DGX Sparka unique workstation that the company called “the world’s smallest AI supercomputer.” that machine It was actually announced in January.but it took a while to reach the market. When it finally did, it became an interesting alternative but somewhat limited in scope. That is just what the new Nvidia RTX Spark family, which will arrive, wants to change both in the form of laptops as desktop computers, and that it will do so with a fundamental difference: Windows for ARM. Hello, Windows for ARM. The golden DGX Spark were Linux-based workstations, which targeted them at a smaller audience, but with the RTX Spark, Nvidia wanted to make the big leap to the general public. These devices are based on Windows 11 for ARM, and will take advantage of all hardware and software capabilities so that this technological solution is no longer only aimed at AI enthusiasts. Of course, that will continue to be one of the segments it will target, but these systems can also be used for both creative and gaming environments. In Xataka We wanted an ideal PC to be able to experiment with local AI models. The Framework Desktop is the answer to our prayers Approximate performance: an RTX 5070. Those responsible for NVIDIA have not yet given too many specific details about what we can expect from this platform in terms of performance, but they have indicated that the performance of the GPU It is close to that of an RTX 5070 (portable version), although the exact numbers depend on the specific application or game: in some it will be a little better, in others a little worse and in others exactly the same. Yes, they have indicated that the promise is to obtain 100 FPS in 1440p gaming as reference data. Same chip, different operating system. Hardware technical specifications They are identical to those of the DGX Spark. The main data are the following: NVIDIA Grace Blackwell Architecture CPU: up to 20 Grace cores GPU: Developed in collaboration with MediaTek, up to 6,144 CUDA cores, 1 PFLOP of AI performance Unified memory: up to 128 GB LPDDR5X at 273 GB/s with NVLink at 600 GB/s But compared to the DGX Spark, we insist, the fundamental difference is that instead of using a specific Nvidia Linux distribution for these machines, here we can take advantage of Windows 11 for ARM. When AI controls your computer. During the presentation of this platform, those responsible for Nvidia talked about the absolute rise of AI agents and how this will mark a paradigm shift in the way we use our PCs and laptops. Before we did it with a mouse and keyboard, but they see a near future in which control is taken by those AI agents, with whom we will interact in a quite different way. The example is the already famous OpenClaw and Hermeswhich with the appropriate permissions can run all kinds of tasks and applications on the computer to autonomously do things for us. Six laptops initially. The Nvidia RTX Spark platform will initially be available in six devices from six different manufacturers that will rely on this technological solution from launch. ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and MSI will have their equipment ready this fall, although at the moment there are no specific specifications or prices announced. It is possible that during Computex we will learn more details about these devices. What can we expect in autonomy. At the moment no specific data has been given about the efficiency of these devices, but Nvidia spoke of a battery life “for the whole day.” They highlight the efficiency of the GPU and in fact indicate that GPU performance will be virtually the same whether the laptop is plugged in or not. Obviously in intensive tasks and demanding games that battery will drain much more quickly. In Xataka Goodbye to the duopoly of Intel and AMD in Windows: the arrival of NVIDIA processors is imminent and brings 8 laptops under its arm The doubt of Windows for ARM. The commitment to Microsoft’s operating system is striking, but Nvidia believes that now the system is much more mature, and that both emulation and hardware support It’s much better than in the past thanks to the work that Microsoft and Nvidia have done in the months and years leading up to this launch. They talk about a “first-class experience” for the operating system, and even commented that they have worked with the developers of anti-cheat systems in video games so that this is not a problem on these computers. And also desktop computers. When Nvidia announced its DGX Spark, then similar desktop computers appeared in format that also offered that same platform. The same thing will happen with RTX Spark, and although there was hardly any data here, Nvidia did indicate that these devices will appear in the fall from Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, MSI and Lenovo. {“videoId”:”x7ztphf”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”How to know the components of your PC (RAM, Graphics, CPU…) and the state they are in”, “tag”:”webedia-prod”, “duration”:”387″} Many unknowns and certain obsolescence. There are many doubts surrounding these devices in terms of performance or price, but there is another fundamental problem: when these laptops and desktop PCs appear starting in the fall, they will do so with chips that have been on the market for a year and therefore in a certain sense are already somewhat obsolete. Competing with the Desktop Framework. The memory bandwidth is not exceptional, and for example the Framework Desktop presented in August 2025 already offered a similar configuration in that section, with up to 128 GB of LPDDR5x memory at 256 GB/s. It will be interesting to see how the RTX Spark machines perform against alternatives like this (which makes use of a “traditional” x86 Windows 11 operating system) and whether Nvidia’s ARM chip can really make a difference in an ultra-competitive market. In Xataka |The demand for AI memories is suffocating mobile manufacturers. The largest … Read more

Intel has a plan to stand up to TSMC in 2027. First it has to survive 2026

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During his almost four years at the helm of Intel, Pat Gelsinger stated on several occasions how important the semiconductor manufacturing business was for this company. In fact, many of the decisions he made pursued strengthen your competitiveness in a sector strongly dominated by Taiwanese integrated circuit manufacturer TSMC. However, the continuous delays in the manufacturing processes, the million-dollar losses and the drop in the stock market value of this company they ended up hastening his departure. Lip-Bu Tan, the current CEO of Intel, assumed leadership of the company in March 2025. At that time, a very uncertain future loomed over this company, and it was not at all clear what role Intel’s chip factories would play in the company’s global strategy. In fact, the leaks that predicted the possible segregation of semiconductor production plants into an independent company suggested that Lip-Bu Tan was willing to do without its chip factories. Fourteen months after his arrival to the general management, the panorama is very different. Integrated circuit manufacturing plants once again occupy a central position in Intel’s strategy. has confirmed it recently Lip-Bu Tan without the slightest ambiguity on CNBC’s Mad Money. From his statements it is clear that he aspires to consolidate Intel as the Western alternative to TSMC. And its cutting-edge nodes and Apple play a fundamental role in this ambitious plan. Node 18A is Intel’s best hope The most advanced integration technology Intel currently has in large-scale production is 18A lithography. In theory it is comparable or slightly superior to 2nm nodes from TSMC and Samsung. When Tan took the reins of the company, the performance of the 18A node it was not good. In fact, the outlook looked so bad that was forced to ask for help to some of its partners in the integrated circuit manufacturing ecosystem to analyze the data it had and find a way to optimize production and increase its competitiveness. “Performance” evaluates what percentage of the chips produced are working correctly. A low one triggers million-dollar losses An important note: in this context “performance” evaluates what percentage of the chips produced work correctly. Low performance triggers million-dollar losses. Tan has explained that the industry standard requires improving that performance by 7 to 8% each month, and has confirmed that now Intel is reaching that figure. There is no doubt that it is an unmistakable sign that the situation is changing. So much, in fact, that customers are starting to knock on the door. Intel has already closed agreements chip manufacturing with Tesla and Google. AND, as we told you at the beginning of this monthApple is exploring the possibility of Intel and Samsung manufacturing the advanced chips for their devices in the US. In all likelihood, the loss of influence and priority in the TSMC production chain that it has maintained for more than a decade has led to this decision. Now Nvidia has these privileges. There are several compelling reasons why Apple may be interested in Intel manufacturing its integrated circuits in the US. Or Samsung in its state-of-the-art plant in Texas. Or you could even work with both companies simultaneously and not completely break its business relationship with TSMC. Either way, this diversification strategy would allow Apple to effectively protect itself from supply chain disruptions triggered by geopolitical instability. And also the shortage of some components caused by the massive construction of data centers to artificial intelligence (AI). The next step will be node 14Athe integration technology with which Intel hopes to be able to compete head-to-head with TSMC in 2027 and 2028. Tesla has already confirmed which will order chips with this photolithography from Intel for its electric vehicles and robotics projects. Image | Intel More information | DigiTimes Asia In Xataka | Bill Gates has X-rayed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate.

China finally has a competitive desktop processor. Its problem is that it is six years behind Intel

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China has your own alternative to processors for PCs, servers and data centers made by Intel, AMD and other companies. Loongson is one of the few Chinese companies that can manufacture advanced microprocessors. We have been following it for several years because in the current climate of geopolitical tension it has acquired more relevance than ever, and there is no doubt that its cruising speed is high. At the end of December 2022 this company launched its CPU 3A5000 32 corea general-purpose processor with LoongArch microarchitecture implemented by this company on the MIPS architecture. And in February 2024 it presented its LS3C6000 server processor, a CPU with DragonChain technology that could be scaled up to 64 cores. Its latest milestone is not the presentation of a new chip. The reason why we have decided to talk to you again about this Chinese company is that just a week ago it confirmed that it has distributed more than one million units of its flagship desktop processor, which represents a milestone in China’s efforts to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry. The 3A6000 CPU has been designed and manufactured entirely in China Loongson implements its processors on the MIPS architecture, but the microarchitecture of these chips has been expressly designed by engineers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. By not using x86-64 or ARM architectures, this company has been able to continue refining its designs without being conditioned by US sanctions. Be that as it may, Loongson is dedicated to the design of microprocessors, but does not have the capacity to manufacture them itself. China recently had no alternative to US-made CPUs SMIC takes care of this (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp), what is the largest semiconductor manufacturer from China, in the same way that TSMC produces the integrated circuits designed by AMD, Apple, NVIDIA or Qualcomm. According to the publication Fast Technology, the third generation of Loongson chipsto which the 3A6600, 3B6600 and 3C6600 CPUs belong, has a performance comparable to that of the 12th Intel Core and 13th generation. Curiously, according to Fast Technology, the 3B6600 model in particular is the one that rivals these Intel CPUs and comparable AMD proposals. In fact, according to SCMP Loongson herself has acknowledged that the performance of her desktop processors is comparable to that of Intel chips launched around 2020. Six years is a long time in this sector, but it is important that we do not overlook that China recently did not have any alternative to US-made CPUs. This achievement by Loongson is part of Beijing’s effort to channel resources to reduce China’s dependence on foreign semiconductor technology. However, this strategy has been accelerated in response to restrictive export controls Americans who limit China’s access to advanced chips, integrated circuit design software and next-generation semiconductor manufacturing services. It will be interesting to see if Loongson finally catches up with Intel and AMD. Image | TSMC More information | SCMP In Xataka | China takes off in quantum computers: it already has the first dual-core and 200 qubits on the planet ready

TSMC is focusing on the lucrative AI industry, so Apple is looking for a new girlfriend. Found it at Intel

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In 2023, Apple completed its transition and made all Macs in its catalog work with its Apple M-series chips. It was the end of a relationship that began in 2005, when Steve Jobs announced the transition from IBM PowerPCs to Intel chips. Then things went wrong and Apple ended up separating itself from Intel in its products, but once again there has been an interesting twist of the events. Intel does not know how to be a foundry. The integration of the Apple M1 in 2020 was the real beginning of a logical strategy: Apple wanted to design its own chips for its Macs as it had already done in its iPhone or iPad, and the result was extraordinary. The curious thing is that Apple negotiated with Intel to manufacture the iPhone chips, but Intel rejected the opportunity. When Morris Chang, founder of TSMC, asked Cook why he hadn’t chosen Intel to make those chips, responded “Intel just doesn’t know how to be a foundry (chip factory)”. TSMC turns to AI. The relationship between Apple and TSMC has been one of the most important in the semiconductor industry. TSMC makes virtually all of Apple’s advanced chips, from iPhone processors to Mac M chips. That dependence, however, has become uncomfortable for two reasons: Chip shortage: The rise of AI has made the demand for this type of chips extraordinary. TSMC is prioritizing customers with the highest volume and margin in the most advanced nodes, and there Apple competes with NvidiaAMD and other manufacturers looking for 2 and 3 nm chips. Geopolitics: 90% of the world’s advanced chip production is in Taiwanand any escalation of existing tensions with China could paralyze the supply chains of Apple and the vast majority of technology firms on the planet. Diversifying manufacturers is therefore a strategic necessity. Intel gets interesting. It is true that Intel is not the only alternative that Apple was exploring, and Samsung was another candidate to work closely with the Cupertino firm. However Intel has a first important advantage with the 18A nodeits next-generation manufacturing process that experts consider comparable to TSMC’s 2nm process. Apple has been considering this node for entry-level M chips for months. Intel will not be manufacturing Apple’s most advanced chips at the moment, but this is a potential first step so that it can be verified that Intel can indeed accomplish the task and then also manufacture its most ambitious designs. Lip-Bu Tan turns the tables. Intel’s new CEO took over in early 2025and since then the company has taken promising steps when it was in a situation really worrying. has reached agreements with Nvidia to develop x86 chip sets with RTX graphics, for example. It also collaborates with Tesla to manufacture chips with an even more advanced node14A, for Elon Musk’s future TeraFab. Preliminary agreement. Official details of the deal are not yet known, but in The Wall Street Journal they claim that said agreement exists although it describes it as preliminary. It is not currently clear which chip or chips Intel will manufacture or in which photolithographic process. It is expected that the 18A node will be used for those entry-level M chips, but it is not ruled out that the 14A will not be part of this new commercial relationship. Be that as it may, if the agreement is closed as it seems, we would be facing a definitive boost to this new strategy of foundry traditional approach—manufacturing chips for third parties—that Intel is adopting. The circle closes. Intel lost the contract for iPhone chips because it refused to manufacture them for not having enough marginand thus passed up the opportunity to be a de facto partner in probably the most lucrative product in the history of technology. He then tried correct the errorbut he didn’t succeed. Then Intel would lose the Mac chip business, which would be another major setback. Now it seems to be taking flight again, and its promising future—along with other factors—have made Apple want to work with it again. It seems that Intel, after all, is learning to be a foundry. Image | Fortune CEO Initiative In Xataka | The US’s problem in the AI ​​and humanoid race is not China: it is all of Asia and it is greatly disadvantaged

China is neither nor does it want to be in the 2nm war between TSMC, Intel and Samsung. Your plan to win is different

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“Many people believe that competition in the semiconductor industry comes down to the advanced nodes and that we will only achieve success when we reach 2 or 3 nm. This is a misunderstanding“. This statement was made by Richard Chang Rujing, the founder of SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer with a global market share of about 5%. Rujing has spoken these words with a very clear intention: he wants China to strengthen its supply chain and its position in the global integrated circuit market by developing its manufacturing capacity for mature chips. Currently the most advanced integration technology that SMIC has in production is 7nm photolithography due to their inability to access equipment extreme ultraviolet lithography (VVE) of ASML. And there is no doubt that it and other Chinese chip manufacturers would benefit greatly from having the capacity to produce 5, 3 and 2 nm semiconductors. In this way they could compete on equal terms with TSMC, Intel and Samsung. However, there is something very important that we should not overlook: advanced nodes represent less than 20% of the world market of integrated circuits by product volume, while more than 80% of demand It comes from the segments of mature nodes and specialized processes. Rujing wants SMIC and the other Chinese chipmakers to invest more in their mature nodes, and it makes sense. After all, this is the strategy that is allowing China resist US pressure. Mature chips are the medicine the Chinese industry needs During the first two months of 2026, China exported integrated circuits worth $43.3 billionwhich represents an increase of 72.6% compared to the same period in 2025. This information comes directly from Chinese customs records, so it is presumably reliable. However, the most astonishing thing is that this country’s exports as a whole have grown by 21.8% during January and February, so it is evident that the semiconductor industry has been stimulated with much more intensity than other sectors. More than 80% of demand comes from the mature nodes and specialized processes segments Domestic demand has stimulated the growth of the Chinese chip industry in recent years, but the figures I have collected in the previous paragraph show that external demand is also very strong. In this context it is reasonable for us to ask what type are integrated circuits that Chinese manufacturers are mass producing. And the answer is very revealing: these are chips derived from mature integration technologiesusually 28 nm or less advanced. After all, the semiconductors that we mostly find in electronic devices, household appliances or cars, among other products, have been produced using them. Many Chinese chip manufacturers, such as Hua Hong Semiconductor, China Resources Microelectronics or Guangzhou ZenSemi, are manufacturing 28 nm integrated circuits or with even more mature technologies. And the Beijing Yandong Microelectronics (YDME) company is going to build a 4.6 billion dollar plant expressly to produce 28nm semiconductors on 300mm wafers. It is evident that these companies would not focus on the manufacturing of mature chips in this way if it were not a profitable strategy, and, above all, necessary to sustain the Chinese integrated circuit industry at a time as critical as the current one. Image | TSMC More information | SCMP In Xataka | China is preparing for the worst scenario: it fears that the US will prevent TSMC from delivering chips for cars and smartphones

that Intel and Samsung manufacture their advanced chips in the US

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Apple is no longer TSMC’s largest customer. It has been since 2014 and has maintained this position for just over a decade, but in 2025 Nvidia established itself as the main customer of this Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer. Until December 31, 2025, Nvidia generated 19% of TSMC’s revenuecompared to 17% for Apple. Even so, there is no doubt that the Cupertino company continues to be a priority customer for TSMCalthough this scenario could change in the short or medium term. And, according to BloombergApple is exploring the possibility of Intel and Samsung manufacturing the advanced chips for their devices in the US. In all likelihood, the loss of influence and priority in the TSMC production chain that it has maintained for more than a decade has led to this decision. Now Nvidia has these privileges. However, to understand why Apple is considering leaning on Intel and Samsung, we also need to look in another direction. Betting on Intel or Samsung makes sense, although it involves risks There are several compelling reasons why Apple may be interested in Intel manufacturing its integrated circuits in the US. Or Samsung in its state-of-the-art plant in Texas. Or you could even work with both companies simultaneously and not completely sever your business relationship with TSMC. Either way, this diversification strategy would allow Apple to effectively protect itself from supply chain disruptions triggered by geopolitical instability. And also the shortage of some components caused by the massive construction of data centers to artificial intelligence (AI). Apple is a candy for Intel and Samsung. There is no doubt about that In fact, last week Apple recognized during the presentation of its economic results that its current supply chain is not very flexible. And in the current situation of instability, having Intel and Samsung as partners is a very attractive option. Furthermore, for these two companies it is very important get Apple as a client. In 2024 this last company represented approximately 25.2% of annual income from TSMC. And in 2025 this figure dropped to 17%, allowing Nvidia to overtake Apple with 19% of income generated for TSMC. Still, Apple is a candy for Intel and Samsung. There is no doubt about that. For Intel, having Apple as a client would represent a definitive boost for its integrated circuit manufacturing division for third parties. And for Samsung to manufacture a part of Apple’s SoCs would be a very important boost that would probably allow it to attract other clients in the fight it has had with TSMC for years to dominate the cutting-edge chip manufacturing market. Whatever Apple executives decide, it is highly unlikely that this company will abandon TSMC. This Taiwanese chipmaker has proven for years that it is perfectly capable of manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors on a large scale and with indisputable consistency. You don’t have to prove anything, but Intel and Samsung do because it’s currently unclear whether they can reliably deliver the kind of production and scale that has made them TSMC in the dominant custom chip maker. Apple may end up outsourcing part of the manufacturing of its SoCs to Intel or Samsung, but nothing indicates that it will break its already long-standing commercial alliance with TSMC in the medium term. Image | Apple More information | Bloomberg In Xataka | Apple had been able to maintain prices despite the crazy rise in RAM. That’s over

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