Intel

Intel prepares to fire 20% of its workforce, according to Bloomberg

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The challenges a Those who currently face Intel They exceed the other challenges that he has faced during his more than half a century of history. The leadership he has held for decades in The integrated circuit manufacturing industry is in the hands of The Taiwanese company TSMC since the mid -2000s. In addition, the stagnation during the last years of the PC market and the slowness with which Intel has participated in the industry of the industry of the artificial intelligence (AI) have placed it in a very compromised position. In July 2024, the company that at that time led Pat Gelsinger gave a tremendous batacazo in the stock market. Their actions fell 30% in a few days and stabilized in the value they had in 2011. In addition, Intel lost $ 1.6 billion During the second quarter of 2024 and its year -on -year income fell by 1%. These circumstances triggered a crisis that still persists today, as we anticipate in the head of this article. Intel’s current general director is committed to returning to the company’s roots Everything rushed during the summer of 2024. On August 2 Intel announced that was about to start a structural adjustment plan that pursued to reduce the costs of the company and increase its agility when adapting to the challenges that the market currently imposes. Its objective was to fire 15% of the workforce (more than 15,000 employees) and reduce costs by approximately 10,000 million dollars. Pat Gelsinger had declared shortly before Intel was inefficient because he had an excessively complex structure. Lip-Bu so seeks to eliminate redundant positions and reduce management levels Not even Gelsinger himself “survived” this regeneration process. On December 2 This executive came out in a somewhat precipitated way of the company, whose course was uncertain until last March 18 Lip-bu took the reins of Intel. This veteran physicist and nuclear engineer He hastened to confirm that two of the pillars of its strategy would pursue reinforce the company’s position in the AI ​​market and reposition Intel as a leading company in the integrated circuit manufacturing industry. Today we know something else. Something very important. And is that, According to BloombergIntel is preparing to face a new cut in its workforce in a clear attempt to reduce their operating expenses, among which personnel costs or marketing expenses are counted. The figure that considers the company on this occasion amounts to 20% of its workforce, which in practice implies to dispense with approximately 20,000 workers. However, these people join the more than 15,000 employees of which Intel has dispensed with in the last months of 2024. On that occasion the people who were forced to leave the company They were not engineers; They were administrative and sales personnel, marketing and support. On this occasion, Lip-Bu seeks to eliminate redundant positions and reduce management levels with the purpose of increasing Intel’s agility and competitiveness in two key areas such as AI and the manufacture of semiconductors. Image | Intel More information | Bloomberg In Xataka | Intel has confirmed that the 20A node will be skipped to reduce expenses. The 18A node will enter production in 2025

TSMC is willing to take control of Intel chips factories. What you don’t want is to do it alone

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The administration led by Donald Trump has asked TSMC to help rescue intel semiconductor factories. This is at least what media support almost always as well informed as Reuters either SCMP. If so, This initiative of the US government It changes everything. If the Trump administration did not agree with this strategy, its viability would be very small, but its support invites us to take this possibility very seriously. According to these TSMC media, it is preparing a proposal that will present both Intel and the US government to take control of Integrated circuit production plants of this American company. However, this Taiwanese chips manufacturer does not want to face this solo challenge; He prefers to do it with other companies that presumably also interested in participating in the management of Intel factories. According to the sources of ReutersTSMC managers are talking to their Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom and Qualcomm counterparts with the purpose of constituting a joint company that is responsible for plant management. TSMC would not have a participation in any case greater than 50% in this Joint Venture. At the moment there has been no official confirmation that supports these negotiations, but at the current situation this information is very credible. In any case, this plan will not come to fruition if it does not have the approval of the Donald Trump government. Some Intel relevant employees want to keep control of factories Ben Sell, Vice President of Intel Technology Development, confirmed At the end of last September that the 18A node already has the maturity necessary to enter large -scale production in 2025. and also assured that it will benefit from the resources that have been reallocated since the 20A node. In the current scenario the 18A node will be the true protagonist. In fact, and this is really important, Intel has confirmed which will receive a maximum of 3,000 million dollars within the framework of the ‘Chips and Science Act’ program to manufacture semiconductors for the US government in a reliable way. Lithography 18a is the best opportunity that Intel has to resume direction and improve its competitiveness The name of this plan, “Safe Enclave”, reflects one of the requirements required by the Administration: Chips must occur in the strictest confidentiality. And, as we can intuit, these integrated circuits They will be manufactured in the 18A node. This integration technology is definitely the best opportunity that Intel has to resume course and improve its competitiveness. In fact, voices are being raised within the company itself that demand a little patience to give this node the opportunity to place Intel on the path of recovery. This statement by Joseph Bonetti, main manager of Intel engineering programs, expresses this vision very well: “Intel leaders, Board of Directors of Intel and Donald Trump administration, please do not sell or give the control of Intel Foundry to TSMC just when Intel is taking the technological front and starting to take off. It would be a terrible and demoralizing error.” Bonetti also maintains that Intel is not lagging for its competitors, and that the advances that their engineers are achieving in the field of chips production are very important. At the current situation there is no doubt that the 18A integration technology is the best Intel asset to recover health, but it is important that we do not overlook that its technicians have been calibrating more than a year and adjusting their first teams of lithography of extreme ultraviolet (UVE) and haute opening manufactured by ASML. Intel has them in its Hillsboro (USA) plant. The first tests with this machine presumably They made them at the end of 2024and in 2025 the preliminary tests that pursue to manufacture integrated circuits in the 14A node will begin. It sounds exciting. We will follow the track to this machine very closely to keep you aware of all progress. Image | Intel More information | Reuters | SCMP In Xataka | Bill Gates has radiographed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate

Intel has produced 30,000 wafers in its Uve High-NA teams

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Joseph Bonetti is one of Intel’s engineers who defend that this company is about to be competitive again in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This statement of yours a few days ago expresses your vision very well: “Intel leaders, Board of Directors of Intel and Donald Trump administration, please, They do not sell or give control From Intel Foundry to TSMC just when Intel is taking the technological front and starting to take off. It would be a terrible and demoralizing mistake. “ Although he does not expressly mention them, Bonetti suggests between the lines when he speaks of “the technological front” that Intel will take advantage of his experience with the teams of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) and High Opening to recover leadership in the production of integrated circuits that lost many years ago. These machines produced by the Dutch company ASML are the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment that currently exists. AND Intel has two in the testing phase in its Hillsboro (USA) plant. Next stop: 1.4 Nm The main chips manufacturers on the planet are beginning to gradually try the new ASML photolithography equipment, but Intel was the first company that was done with them. In fact, at the end of February 2024 his engineers concluded successfully The process ‘First Light’which is nothing other than the first phase of the installation and calibration of these machines. Just then they began to do the first tests with them. The 14A lithography (1.4 Nm) will be the first one in which Intel will use the Uve High opening equipment of ASML The 14A lithography (1.4 Nm) will be the first one in which Intel will use the UVE High opening equipment of ASML. His Roadmap It does not reveal the exact moment in which this integration technology will be ready, but it is reasonable to assume that this moment It will arrive in 2026 Because in 2027 the 14A-E lithography will be prepared, which will be nothing other than a review of the original 14A integration technology. Anyway, Intel’s current itinerary does not conclude with this node. Keyvan Esfarjani, which is one of the top responsible for the subsidiary of this company that specializes in the manufacture of integrated circuits, confirmed During the Intel Foundry Direct Connect event of 2024 that the production of chips in the 10A node (which will presumably be equivalent to the 1 Nm lithographs of its competitors) will begin at the end of 2027. It makes sense if we are in mind that in 2026 this company plans Have prepared the 14A node, although, yes, the manufacture of 1 NM semiconductors on a large scale will arrive later (possibly well entered 2028). Anyway, if what we want is to take the pulse at the current moment of Intel the news is promising. Last Monday this company confirmed that it has already prosecuted 30,000 wafers in its EUV High-Na Twinscan Exe: 5000 teams. And he has done it in a quarter. This performance would be modest if we were talking about fully implanted commercial technology, but it is promising if we consider that Intel and ASML engineers are still mired in The test and development phase of semiconductors with the new haute opening equipment. In fact, it is currently reasonable to anticipate that Intel will be the first chips manufacturer that will place integrated circuits produced with this technology, which could give it a very important competitive advantage. Image | ASML More information | Reuters In Xataka | Bill Gates has radiographed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate

Intel has a bullet in the bedroom. A bullet capable of helping you compete from you with TSMC

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The possibility of Intel ending chopped and its semiconductor factories become part of TSMC production infrastructure It is on the table. As we explained two days ago, this producer of Taiwanese integrated circuits and the American chip designer Broadcom are interested in getting two fundamental parts of Intel. TSMC is preparing an offer that would allow you to control Intel integrated circuit manufacturing plants with the purpose of developing your manufacturing infrastructure Beyond Taiwan’s borders. On the other hand, Broadcom is also preparing an offer to get the integrated circuit design and marketing divisions of Intel. In any case, if the TSMC initiative will finally prosper will stumble The opposition of the government led by Donald Trump. Currently it is unlikely that the administration approves the purchase of such an important division of an American company by a foreign company. Discordant voices are being raised within Intel Ben Sell, Vice President of Intel Technology Development, confirmed At the end of last September that the 18A node already has the maturity necessary to enter large -scale production in 2025. and also assured that it will benefit from the resources that have been reallocated since the 20A node. In the current scenario the 18A node will be the true protagonist. In fact, and this is really important, Intel has confirmed which will receive a maximum of 3,000 million dollars within the framework of the ‘Chips and Science Act’ program to manufacture semiconductors for the US government in a reliable way. The 18A node is the best opportunity that Intel has to resume the course and improve its competitiveness The name of this plan, “Safe Enclave”, reflects one of the requirements required by the Administration: Chips must occur in the strictest confidentiality. And, as we can intuit, these integrated circuits will be manufactured in the 18A node. Definitely this integration technology is the best opportunity that Intel has for resume course and improve your competitiveness. In fact, voices are being raised within the company itself that demand a little patience to give this node the opportunity to place Intel on the path of recovery. This statement by Joseph Bonetti, main manager of Intel engineering programs, expresses this vision very well: “Intel leaders, Board of Directors of Intel and Donald Trump’s administration, please do not sell or give the control of Intel Foundry to TSMC just when Intel is taking the technological front and starting to take off. It would be a terrible and demoralizing error” . Bonetti also maintains that Intel is not lagging for its competitors, and that the advances that their engineers are achieving in the field of chips production are very important. At the current situation there is no doubt that the 18A integration technology is the best Intel asset to recover health, but it is important that we do not overlook that its technicians have been calibrating more than a year and adjusting their first lithography equipment of extreme ultraviolet (UVE) and haute opening manufactured by ASML. Intel has them in its Hillsboro plant (USA). The first tests with this machine presumably carried out them at the end of 2024, and in 2025 the preliminary tests that pursue to manufacture circuits integrated in the 14A node will begin. It sounds exciting. We will follow the track to this machine very closely to keep you aware of all progress. Image | Intel More information | Tom’s hardware In Xataka | Bill Gates has radiographed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate

Now it is more likely that Intel ends up chopped. TSMC and Broadcom are already rubbing their hands

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In the middle of last September, just two and a half months before leaving Intel, Pat Gelsinger revealed that the company’s board of directors was wearing the possibility of Escind your manufacturing business of semiconductors in A movement very similar to the AMD In 2009. This last company broke up its integrated circuit production subsidiary and created GlobalFoundries. Since then It has been objectively well. Intel pursues the same: recover financial health and increase its competitiveness. Gelsinger is already completely disconnected from Intel, but the possibility of separating the chips manufacturing subsidiary from the rest of the company is still on the table. However, like We explain to you At the end of November, if you finally decide to do so, you will not have complete freedom. And he will not have it because he has contracted obligations with the US government as a result of the reception of the 7,860 million dollars given by the Department of Commerce as a subsidy. And also of the 3.5 billion dollars which will receive from the Department of Defense to make chips for military applications. TSMC and Broadcom are interested in getting two essential parts of Intel Intel’s commitment to the US administration directly involves the splitting of its semiconductor manufacturing division in the form of an independent subsidiary. The US government has asked Intel to maintain the property of at least 50.1% of Intel Foundry if this business unit finally got to separate and acquire the form of a new private legal entity. And now more than ever this possibility is very tangible. TSMC is preparing an offer that would allow you to control the integrated circuit manufacturing plants of Intel According to The Wall Street Journal (TWSJ), which in the field of relations between companies does not usually give stitch without thread, TSMC and Broadcom are interested in getting two fundamental parts of Intel. The Taiwanese manufacturer of semiconductors, which leads the global market with A fee close to 60%you are preparing, always according to TWSJ, an offer that would allow you Control manufacturing plants Intel integrated circuits. At the current situation this strategic decision makes sense. TSMC is interested in developing its manufacturing infrastructure beyond Taiwan’s borders with the purpose of protecting its business if a war conflict between China and its country of origin is triggered. This company currently is building new plants of semiconductor production in Arizona (USA), Germany and Japan, but adding the factories that Intel has not only in the US, but also in Europe, Israel and Asia would allow him to consolidate his expansion very quickly. Interestingly in the middle of last October CC Wei, the current president and general director of TSMC, declared that he did not contemplate The possibility of buying Intel factories. However, it is reasonable that an executive with his responsibility Do not confirm an operation of this size until it is essentially closed. Whatever TSMC is not at all the only company that is interested in getting a piece of Intel. And is that, According to TWSJthe American chip designer Broadcom is also preparing an offer to get the integrated circuit design and marketing divisions of Intel. In any case, if the TSMC initiative will finally prosper will stumble in all likelihood with the government’s opposition led by Donald Trump. Currently it is unlikely that the administration approves the purchase of such an important division of an American company by a foreign company. Especially if, in addition, your business develops in a strategic industry such as semiconductors. Image | Intel More information | The Wall Street Journal In Xataka | Bill Gates has radiographed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate

Bill Gates has radiographed Intel. And his diagnosis is overwhelmingly accurate

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Intel’s health is worrying. We have talked about the problems he faces This company with some depth during the last six months, but to delimit its context it is important that we remember that on August 1 he announced A very aggressive cost reduction plan which seeks to increase the efficiency of your business model and competitiveness. Its purpose is to reduce your expenses in More than 10,000 million dollars during 2025. To achieve this in essence, two fronts are attacking: 15% of its workforce has been undone, and, in addition, it has significantly reduced its investment in research and development, marketing and general administration. Presumably most of these cuts was executed before 2024 ended, so, on paper, for 2025 Intel’s maximum austerity strategy It will consolidate definitively. Bill Gates analyzes why Intel is in such a committed situation For users it is very bad news that Intel is going through such a delicate moment. It would also be to the same extent as AMD, NVIDIA or Apple, among other companies, cross a similar crisis. It is evident that what interests us consumers is that these companies compete with each other, and so that they can do so, they are necessary to be in the best state possible. Bill Gates also believes it. Your statements a The Associated Press They have no waste. “I am stunned because Intel has lost his way. Gordon Moore always kept it at the forefront, and now they are lagging behind in terms of chip design, and also to the manufacture of integrated circuits. And both aspects require a great capital investment. artificial intelligence (AI), and Your manufacturing capabilities They do not even use the standards that companies such as NVIDIA or Qualcomm consider simple. I think Pat Gelsinger was very brave when he said: ‘I will not fix the chips design; I will fix the manufacture ‘. I expected, for its good and for the good of the country, that it was successful “, Bill Gates has confessed. “The chips revolution for AI and their manufacturing capabilities have not even used the standards that NVIDIA or Qualcomm consider simple,” PAT GELSINGER Abandon Intel on December 1. Although it is already completely disconnected from the company that has led for almost four years, the possibility of separating the chips manufacturing subsidiary from the rest of the company remains above the table. However, like We explain to you At the end of November, if you finally decide to do so, you will not have complete freedom. And he will not have it because he has contracted obligations with the US government as a result of the reception of the 7,860 million dollars given by the Department of Commerce as a subsidy, and also of the 3.5 billion dollars which will receive from the Department of Defense to make chips for military applications. Intel’s commitment to the US administration directly involves the splitting of its semiconductor manufacturing division in the form of an independent subsidiary. The US government has asked Intel that Keep the property of at least 50.1% Intel Foundry if this business unit finally got to separate and acquire the form of a new private legal entity. And, despite everything that has happened in the company in recent months, as I mentioned a few lines above, this possibility is still on the table. Intel it is crucial to increase its competitiveness, and the splitting of chips factories could help you get it. Dave Zinsner, the company’s financial director, has declared That a possible formal separation of the manufacturing and development of products is a matter that is completely open and that will have to decide the next leader of Intel. He will decide if he goes ahead with Gelsinger’s plan, or if, on the contrary, he turns around. Right now it is difficult to anticipate what will happen, but whatever happens, as Bill Gates argues, it is desirable to be in good shape. Image | Pexels (Cottonbro Studio) | World Economic Forum More information | The Associated Press In Xataka | The next revolution of the chips is approaching. Intel, Samsung, TSMC and AMD already work on glass substrates

Intel was about to snatch Apple as a client from TSMC. Having achieved its story would be another

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Apple is the largest TSMC customer. By difference. In 2021 26% of income From this manufacturer of Taiwanese semiconductors came from the signing of the apple, a figure much higher than 5.8% derived from its activity for Mediatek, which was then its second best client. All probability These numbers will barely varied In the following years. In any case, the narrow bond that these two companies have maintained has caused Apple to be a priority customer for TSMC. Those of Cupertino were the first to have access to the 3 nm lithographic node which is underway in TSMC plants in Taiwan. And Apple will have priority access, as expected, to the 2 nm lithographic node With GAA transistors (Gate-alall-around) in which TSMC will begin large -scale manufacturing for 2025. That of these two companies is a story full of complicities and alliances that have allowed both to be reinforced. However, everything was about to be very different. Intel tried to convince Apple The company led by Tim Cook began to develop its own SOC for its smartphones and tablets between 2009 and 2010. At that time Apple decided that Samsung, which is one of the three semiconductor manufacturers From the planet next to Intel and TSMC, be responsible for producing its chips. However, there was a problem: Samsung already was already one of the integrated circuit manufacturers that had some of the most advanced integration technologies, but it was also a direct competitor of Apple. This rivalry led Tim Cook to opt for other options, and one of them, presumably the most attractive, consisted of allying with TSMC and trusting that this Taiwanese company was responsible for manufacturing its semiconductors. However, this It was not the only option Cook had on the table. He also considered the possibility of working with Intel or Texas Instruments. The problem was that Intel had barely manufacturing chips for third parties, and, on the other hand, Texas Instruments integration technologies were not advanced enough. “Simply Intel does not know what to do to exercise as a chip factory for third parties” Despite all this, Paul Otellinithe general director of Intel at that time, met with Tim Cook in early 2011 with the purpose of convincing him that Intel was his best option. And it must have been very persuasive. In fact, the head of Apple decided to stop the commitment he had already reached with TSMC for two months with the purpose of evaluating Otellini’s proposal. Morris Changthe founder of TSMC, worried a lot when he learned that Tim Cook had temporarily stopped his commitment and decided to travel immediately to the US to meet with Apple’s general director. Chang has revealed during an interview with Acquired What happened during those negotiation days: “Intel’s general director approached Tim Cook and asked him to consider his company. At that time Intel was the main supplier of the Apple Mac line. I knew many of Intel’s clients in Taiwan, none of them liked it because Intel always acted as if they were the only ones who had microprocessors. Even if Intel tried to do business in good faith, he had a conflict of interest. “ However, Chang adds something else. “We have learned to attend all the requests of our clients. We always respond with courtesy, but Intel has never done that. All Intel clients in Taiwan who knew wanted to change the supplier,” recalls Morris Chang. Anyway, when the TSMC founder spoke with Tim Cook the latter had already made a decision. A decision that reassured the veteran Taiwanese engineer: “Simply Intel does not know what to do to exercise as a chip factory for third parties.” This is the phrase that, according to Morris Chang, Tim Cook said to let him know that Apple would seal his alliance with TSMC. The rest is history. Image | Asia Society | Flickr (Fortune Ceo Initiative, David Geller) More information | Acquired In Xataka | The new TSMC factory in the US has achieved something “impossible”: overcome the performance of Taiwan plants

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