Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has pitched US chip designers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom about taking stakes in a joint venture that would operate Intel’s factories, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
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Under the proposal, the Taiwanese chipmaking giant would run the operations of Intel’s foundry division, which makes chips adapted for the needs of customers, but it would not own more than 50 per cent, the sources said. Qualcomm has also been pitched by TSMC, according to one of the sources and a separate source.
The talks, which were at an early stage, came after US President Donald Trump’s administration requested TSMC, the world’s leading contract chipmaker, assist in turning around the troubled US industrial icon, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the talks are not public.
The details of the plan for TSMC to take no more than a 50 per cent stake and its overtures to potential partners are being reported for the first time.
Any final deal – the value of which is unclear – would need approval from the Trump administration, which did not want Intel or its foundry division to be fully foreign-owned, the sources said.
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Intel, TSMC, Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm declined to comment. The White House and Broadcom did not respond to requests for comment.