Intel Is Stealing the Foundry Spotlight. Is TSMC Still the Most Important Company in Chips? - The Globe and Mail

Recent signs of revival in Intel's foundry business, particularly amid reports of a chipmaking deal with Apple, have sparked renewed interest in the company's turnaround. This has raised questions abo... Read original →

Intel’s resurgence via its 18A node and deals with Apple and NVIDIA has reignited foundry hopes, yet it lacks the scale, yield maturity, or external revenue to challenge TSMC’s dominance. TSMC controls over 90% of leading-edge logic production, underpinning AI and HPC chips with unmatched EUV efficiency. Technically, any delay in Intel’s yield ramp would disrupt client roadmaps, reinforcing TSMC’s leverage. U.S. chip policy offers Intel subsidies, but new fabs incur massive fixed costs without near-term profitability. Strategically, TSMC is diversifying—Arizona, Japan—to mitigate geopolitical concentration risk, while Intel must prove commercial viability beyond political backing. Within 12–24 months, the foundry landscape will remain asymmetric: TSMC sets the pace; Intel tests the waters. Supply chain resilience won’t override manufacturing excellence as the industry’s core metric.