Washington: US President Donald Trump announced that Apple has agreed to collaborate with Intel to design and build chips in the United States. This move is part of ongoing efforts to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing.
According to Anadolu Agency, Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform, emphasizing the importance of domestic production. He noted that while the US is a leader in technology design, there is a pressing need to increase manufacturing within the country. The partnership between Apple and Intel follows previous agreements involving companies like Nvidia and those associated with Elon Musk.
The news of the collaboration positively impacted the stock market, with Intel shares surging by approximately 9% in premarket trading and Apple shares increasing by 0.6%. This comes on the heels of a September announcement where Nvidia and Intel revealed a collaboration to develop AI infrastructure and personal computing products.
Intel has also established partnerships with SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla to support Terafab, a semiconductor project linked to Musk. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted in April the ongoing exploration of improving silicon manufacturing efficiency to meet the rising global demand driven by AI advancements.
In his post, Trump referenced the administration's role in facilitating these partnerships, mentioning Nvidia's involvement and Musk's commitment to building 'TerraFab,' which is described as the world's largest chip factory, in collaboration with Intel's technology team.
Furthermore, Trump disclosed that Washington provided support to Intel in exchange for a 10% stake in the company. Last August, Intel announced that the US government would invest $8.9 billion in Intel common stock, equivalent to a 9.9% stake, as part of an agreement to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Trump stated that at the time of the government's investment, Intel was valued at around $100 billion. The company's current valuation exceeds $600 billion, which elevates the value of the US stake to over $60 billion.