Intel's stock has surged over 20% recently as investors anticipate a possible company split amidst a rumor suggesting that the Trump administration might push Intel and TSMC to form a joint venture that would take over Intel's manufacturing capacity. Four former directors of Intel wrote a column in the Fortune magazine explaining that this is a terrible idea and proposed spinning off Intel manufacturing to a separate company that would be owned by American investors instead.
Speculation has arisen that the new U.S. government might pressure Intel and TSMC to form a joint venture that would take over Intel's semiconductor production facilities, which are valued at approximately $108 billion. These facilities span multiple U.S. locations, including Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon, with an additional site under development in Ohio. In addition, Intel has fabs in Israel and Ireland. The Trump administration has denied its involvement and said that it would not welcome a Taiwanese company taking over Intel fabs. TSMC's management also denied interest in taking control over Intel's manufacturing capacity.
