Intel is still using TSMC for 30% of its wafer demands: ‘We were talking about trying to get that to zero as quickly as possible. That’s no longer the strategy’

Intel’s foundry business never seems far from the headlines these days, not least because various ex-executives continue to publicly debate whether it might be a good idea to split it from the rest of Intel entirely in the wake of well-publicised financial woes. Speaking at a technology conference yesterday, John Pitzer, Intel’s vice president of corporate planning and investor relations, revealed that, despite previous plans to the contrary, 30% of its wafers are still outsourced to TSMC.

“I think a year ago we were talking about trying to get that to zero as quickly as possible, but that is no longer the strategy,” said Pfizer (via Tom’s Hardware).

“We think it is always good to have at least some of our wafers with TSMC. They are a great supplier. This creates healthy competition between them and Intel Foundry.”

While Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake mobile CPUs are planned to be built on the company’s much anticipated 18A process node, the current Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake series of processors primarily use TSMC-produced silicon, with final assembly and packaging handled at Intel’s US-based facilities.

And while Intel is still reliant on TSMC’s advanced silicon to manufacture its products, making use of the Taiwanese chip giant’s silicon will likely affect the margins more than if it were made in-house.

“[We are] not quite sure what the right sort of level is,” said Pitzer, in reference to the 30% figure. “Is it 20%? Is it 15%? We are working through that.

“But we will use, I think, external foundry suppliers longer under this new strategy.”

Near enough a year ago, ex-CEO Pat Gelsinger said that he hoped Intel would reduce its dependency on TSMC wafers from 30% to 20%, although much has occurred since then—not least Gelsinger’s departure.

Given Intel’s current limbo-like state, and with interim CEOs Dave Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus at the temporary reins, it’s perhaps no surprise that this dependency has yet to meaningfully change. As the world awaits the eventual outcome of Intel’s current troubles, it remains to be seen if the company will meaningfully decrease its use of TSMC wafers in the near future, or whether the two will perhaps become tied ever closer.

Rumours have suggested that TSMC may be interested in taking control of Intel’s fabs in future, or perhaps isn’t interested at all, or perhaps it could actually be Broadcom with its eyes on the Intel prize.

It’s a confusing and complicated business, this chip manufacturing lark. Still, 30% of Intel’s wafers coming from TSMC is a fact that has now been repeated by Intel two years in a row, so at least we can agree on that, yes?