TSMC proposes Intel foundry takeover, seeks Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom as partners
TSMC seeks to take operational control of Intel’s foundry division, proposing a joint venture with major U.S. chip designers to secure investment and strategic backing.
TSMC has pitched U.S. chip designers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom on taking stakes in a joint venture that would operate Intel’s factories, according to Reuters.
Under the proposal, the Taiwanese chipmaking giant would manage Intel’s foundry division, which manufactures custom-designed chips for customers, but it would not own more than 50%, the sources said. Qualcomm has also been approached by TSMC, according to one of the sources and a separate source.
The talks, which are still in the early stages, follow a request from the Trump administration for TSMC—the world’s leading contract chipmaker—to help revive the struggling U.S. semiconductor giant, the sources said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are not public.
The details of the plan, including TSMC’s proposal to limit its stake to no more than 50% and its outreach to potential partners, hadn’t been reported previously.
Any final deal—whose value remains unclear—would require approval from the Trump administration, which does not want Intel or its foundry division to be fully foreign-owned, the sources added.
Intel, TSMC, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm declined to comment. The White House and Broadcom did not respond to requests for comment.
At stake is the future of the U.S. chipmaking giant, whose shares have lost more than half their value over the past year.
Intel reported a net loss of $18.8 billion in 2024—its first annual loss since 1986—due to significant impairments. As of December 31, the company’s foundry division had property and plant equipment valued at $108 billion, according to a company filing.
Trump is eager to turn Intel around as part of his broader effort to strengthen U.S. advanced manufacturing, three of the sources said.
According to the sources, TSMC’s joint venture proposal was presented to potential partners before the Taiwanese company announced on March 3—alongside Trump—that it planned to invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, including the construction of five new chip facilities in the coming years. Discussions about the Intel foundry joint venture have continued since then, with TSMC seeking multiple chip designers as partners.
Several companies have expressed interest in acquiring parts of Intel, but two of the four sources said Intel has refused to consider selling its chip design division separately from its foundry operations.
Qualcomm has exited earlier discussions to buy all or part of Intel, according to those sources and a separate source.
