A former Intel board member, David Yoffie, says the company's foundry business has a huge credibility problem because it also makes competing chips. Big potential clients like NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm are reportedly scared to hand over their designs, fearing Intel could access their proprietary tech. Yoffie argues the only real fix is a full legal separation of the manufacturing division from the product design teams.
Intel's own leadership acknowledges the issue. A company VP stated they are already forming the foundry into its own legal entity with a separate advisory board, creating the option for a future spin-off. This move is a direct response to customer demand for more operational walls between divisions. The success of their upcoming 18A and 14A production nodes likely depends on convincing the industry that these protections are solid.
This conflict exists despite the industry norm of using shared foundries, like TSMC, which builds chips for every major firm without issue. Intel itself is a TSMC customer. The difference is that TSMC does not compete with its clients. For Intel Foundry to land major external orders, it must prove its internal firewalls are just as impermeable as a completely independent company's would be.
Intel's own leadership acknowledges the issue. A company VP stated they are already forming the foundry into its own legal entity with a separate advisory board, creating the option for a future spin-off. This move is a direct response to customer demand for more operational walls between divisions. The success of their upcoming 18A and 14A production nodes likely depends on convincing the industry that these protections are solid.
This conflict exists despite the industry norm of using shared foundries, like TSMC, which builds chips for every major firm without issue. Intel itself is a TSMC customer. The difference is that TSMC does not compete with its clients. For Intel Foundry to land major external orders, it must prove its internal firewalls are just as impermeable as a completely independent company's would be.
