Intel Corp has landed Microsoft Corp as a customer for its made-to-order chip business, marking a key win for an ambitious turnaround effort under chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger.
Microsoft plans to use Intel’s 18A manufacturing technology to make a forthcoming chip that the software maker designed in-house, the two companies said at an event on Wednesday.
They did not identify the product, but Microsoft recently announced plans for two homegrown chips — a computer processor and an artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator.
Photo: AP
Intel has been seeking to prove it can compete in the foundry market, where companies produce custom chips for clients. It is a major shift for the semiconductor pioneer, which once had the world’s most advanced chipmaking facilities and kept them to itself. These days, Intel is racing to catch up with companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which leads the foundry industry.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking to secure a steady supply of semiconductors to power its data-center operations — especially as demand for AI grows. Designing its own chips also lets Microsoft fine-tune the products to its specific needs.
“We need a reliable supply of the most advanced, high-performance and high-quality semiconductors,” Microsoft chief executive officers Satya Nadella said in a statement. “That’s why we are so excited to work with Intel.”
The broader industry has struggled to get enough advanced silicon — particularly Nvidia Corp’s highly prized accelerator chips, which help develop chatbots and other AI services.
For Intel, securing a large customer for its foundry business should help reassure investors that Gelsinger’s comeback bid remains on track. His plan involves building out the chipmaker’s factory operations to handle the increased load — a costly gamble — as well as restoring Intel’s once-dominant technological prowess.
The company is looking to governments in the US and Europe to help defray the costs, and seeing Microsoft on board might help that effort.
Intel has held talks with the administration of US President Joe Biden to secure more than US$10 billion in subsidies under the Chips and Science Act, Bloomberg reported last week.
Microsoft and cloud-computing rivals Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google are among the largest buyers of advanced chips, which they use to power their data centers. They have increasingly turned toward using their own designs — a trend that’s hurt Intel in its most lucrative business. Acting as a foundry for Microsoft and others could help grab back at least a portion of that lost revenue.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in