The two companies held talks for over a year and finalised a formal deal in recent months<\/p>\n
Intel and Apple logos are seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025.PHOTO: REUTERS <\/p>\n
Intel has reached a preliminary deal with Apple to make some of the chips that power the iPhone maker’s devices, the Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported<\/a> on Friday, in \u200ba major boost for the chipmaker’s bid to revive its manufacturing business.<\/p>\n The companies were engaged \u200cin intensive talks for more than a year and they hammered out a formal deal in recent months, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n Read More: <\/strong>Apple’s iPhone shipments in China surge 20% in Q1, data shows<\/a><\/p>\n Intel stock extended gains to rise 15% on the news, while Apple\u00a0shares \u200bwere up about 1.7% in afternoon trading.<\/p>\n Landing an Apple contract will give Intel a steady stream \u200bof demand from one of the world’s largest consumer electronics companies, bolstering both \u2060its reputation and a manufacturing business that has fallen behind TSMC in recent years.<\/p>\n The Journal <\/em>report said \u200bthat the US\u00a0government, which became Intel’s largest shareholder last year under a deal with its CEO \u200bLip-Bu Tan, played a major role in bringing Apple to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n It is unclear which Apple products Intel would make chips for, according to the report. Apple and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters<\/em>‘ requests for \u200bcomment; Intel declined to comment.<\/p>\n For Apple, a deal with Intel could mean a diversification in manufacturing, giving \u200bit the ability to secure more capacity as it has been beholden to extremely tight capacity at TSMC.<\/p>\n At its most \u200crecent \u2060earnings, Apple CEO Tim Cook said iPhone sales were\u00a0held back<\/a>\u00a0by supply constraints at its contract manufacturer.<\/p>\n TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and makes advanced wafers for AI firms such as Nvidia and AMD\u00a0but the swelling demand has made securing chip capacity extremely difficult.<\/p>\n Big win for Intel<\/strong><\/p>\n Intel has spent the last \u200byear\u00a0signing deals with the \u200bUS\u00a0government<\/a>\u00a0and securing \u2060investments from AI chip giant\u00a0Nvidia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0SoftBank<\/a>\u00a0amid a push from CEO Lip-Bu Tan to turn the chipmaker around.<\/p>\n Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has met repeatedly over the \u200blast year with high-ranking Apple officials, including Cook, SpaceX chief \u200bElon Musk \u2060and Nvidia head Jensen Huang, to try to convince them to get into business with Intel, the WSJ<\/em> report said.<\/p>\n Last month, Musk said Tesla\u00a0will use Intel’s next-generation 14A manufacturing process<\/a>\u00a0to make chips at its Terafab project, \u2060an \u200badvanced AI chip complex Musk has envisioned in Austin.<\/p>\n