Although TSMC has committed to invest an additional $100 billion in its own Fab 21 campus in the U.S., a potential joint venture to run Intel's manufacturing capacity is still in the works, according to Reuters, citing four sources. TSMC would reportedly not own more than 50% of the proposed joint venture. A venture that would see leading American fabless chip designers — AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Qualcomm — get stakes in the joint venture, which will be operated by TSMC.
The initiative emerged following a request from President Trump's administration, aiming to bolster Intel while ensuring continued American control. Under the terms of the proposed scheme, Intel will have to spin off its Intel Foundry (IF) division that produces chips for Intel and third-party customers, and then TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, buys less than 50% of IF, leaving the rest to partners. TSMC reportedly initiated discussions with AMD, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, but the talks remain preliminary and sensitive, according to four anonymous sources familiar with these discussions. It is also noteworthy that TSMC has not pitched its main client, Apple, to invest in the JV.
