Bloomberg reports that Apple has been exploring early-stage talks with Intel and evaluating facilities from Samsung Electronics as it looks to diversify production of its core device chips beyond TSMC. Here are the details.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is looking to reduce its reliance on TSMC by exploring alternative manufacturing partners.
That includes early-stage discussions with Intel, and visits to a Samsung Electronics plant in Texas that is expected to produce advanced chips.
The news comes on the heels of an internal reorg that combined Apple’s hardware engineering and hardware technologies teams under a single organization led by Johny Srouji, who’s now the company’s Chief Hardware Officer.
As part of the reorganization, the hardware team was reportedly split into five key areas, one of which is Silicon, overseen by 18-year Apple veteran Sri Santhanam.
Back to the report, Bloomberg says that Apple’s main challenges in its diversification efforts center on manufacturing scale and consistency, as “Intel and Samsung can’t reliably offer the type of production and scale that’s turned TSMC into the dominant made-to-order chip manufacturer — and one of Apple’s most critical supply-chain partners.”
For more than a decade, Apple has designed the main processors, known as systems-on-a-chip, that power its devices and relied on TSMC to build them using the most advanced production processes in Taiwan. The latest iPhones and Macs use what is known as the 3-nanometer fabrication node.
But not even Apple, one of the largest purchasers of silicon, is immune to supply-chain disruptions. Recent shortages have been driven by the massive build-out of AI data centers and higher-than-anticipated demand for Macs suitable for running AI models locally. That, in part, highlights the need for Apple to consider additional suppliers.
Bloomberg also notes that while these conversations began before the recent component crunch driven by the AI boom, the issue has taken on greater urgency in recent months, with Apple itself acknowledging the limited flexibility of its current supply chain during last week’s earnings call.
As for Intel and Samsung Electronics, both would stand to benefit significantly from landing Apple as a customer.
For Intel, it would be a major validation of its still-nascent foundry push under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, with the bonus of rekindling a partnership that started in 2006 and lasted until Apple transitioned to its own Apple Silicon chips.
For Samsung Electronics, it would be a meaningful boost to its standing in the advanced chip market, as even with a more established presence in foundry services, it still trails TSMC.
Apple’s reliance on TSMC also carries added weight given the broader geopolitical tensions surrounding Taiwan and its relationship with China.
Shifting even part of that production elsewhere would not only help spread that risk but also align with Apple’s broader efforts to bring advanced manufacturing back to the US.
That dynamic could be especially relevant if the company struck a deal with Intel, given that the US government now holds an equity stake in the chipmaker.
That said, Bloomberg says that discussions with Intel and Samsung Electronics remain at an early stage with no orders in place, and that “Apple has concerns about using non-TSMC technology and may not ultimately move forward with another partner.”
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