Intel is the largest chip manufacturing giant in the United States, making significant contributions to the development of the US chip manufacturing industry. However, Intel’s advantage in chip manufacturing is gradually declining, and its technology is lagging behind TSM and Samsung several generations, and its revenue is almost unsustainable.
A few years ago, Intel officially entered the field of chip foundry to compete with giants such as TSMC and Samsung. Now Key data show that, Intel has entered the top ten global wafer foundry rankings, and chip foundry business is rising strongly. TSMC should be anxious.
The rise of Intel chip foundry
TSMC has created a unique chip foundry model. Decades ago, the chip industry followed the IDM model, which integrates chip design, manufacturing, and packaging. The advantage is that chip competitiveness is very high, and each link can be independently controlled without being dependent on external factors.
The drawbacks are also very obvious. Enterprises need to balance multiple business departments. In the early stages of development, it is okay, but once it involves high-end chip design and manufacturing, the difficulty will greatly increase. Moreover, the risks and costs of chip manufacturing are also very high. TSMC focuses on chip manufacturing and accepts orders from American chip design companies, allowing them to focus on chip design.
So most American companies have almost switched to the field of chip design, with only Intel adhering to the IDM model. Chips are designed and manufactured by oneself, resulting in Intel being busy at both ends. The chips designed cannot be made by oneself, and performance has been declining.
Intel decided to change itself, so it entered the field of chip foundry and rallied to participate in market competition. During this period, Intel made a lot of efforts and invested in building a factory in Arizona, but failed to acquire High Tower Semiconductor. Nevertheless, Intel did not give up and indeed received rewards.
According to data released by TrendForce, Intel ranked 9th on the global top ten wafer foundry list in the third quarter of this year. Intel’s OEM business revenue for the quarter was $310 million (approximately RMB 2.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 23.1%. This is Intel’s first time entering the top ten, with TSMC still ranking first.
TSMC should be anxious now
TSMC is Intel’s biggest competitor in the field of chip foundry, after all, TSMC has been in the chip foundry field for more than 30 years, and it is not something that Intel can surpass TSMC in a short period of time.
Of course, there is no absolute thing in the world, and although it may not surpass TSMC, it can still bring considerable pressure to TSMC.
On the one hand, Intel has the support of the United States, which will spare no effort to support Intel’s development, from subsidies to policy tilt. As long as Intel can rise, the benefits to the United States are obvious. On the other hand, TSMC’s customers are already seeking more manufacturer collaborations.
NVIDIA said, “Nothing can stop us from adding another potential OEM factory.” Intel and NVIDIA are competitors and partners, and customers seek diversified cooperation while also increasing their bargaining power over TSMC to avoid TSMC monopolizing the industry.
TSMC should be anxious now, and more and more customers are looking for Intel to cooperate. As long as Intel successfully masters high-end chip foundry technology and has sufficient production capacity and guaranteed yield, it may become the second “Samsung”, closely catching up with TSMC and making it difficult for them to sleep and eat.
Refer link: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1784948933630271496&wfr=spider&for=pc
