San Francisco, May 8, 2026, 11:04 PDT
- Intel has reached a preliminary agreement to make some chips for Apple devices, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- The deal would give Apple a possible U.S. manufacturing path beyond TSMC, its main chipmaking partner.
- Intel shares jumped sharply on the report, extending a rally tied to hopes for its foundry business.
Intel has reached a preliminary deal to manufacture some chips for Apple, a potential breakthrough for the U.S. chipmaker as it tries to rebuild its contract manufacturing business, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. It is not yet clear which Apple products would use Intel-made chips.
The timing matters. Apple has been looking for more room in a supply chain dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., while Intel needs a large outside customer to prove its foundry business — factories that make chips designed by other companies — can compete at the high end.
Intel shares were last up about 14.7% in U.S. trading, while Apple rose about 1.7%. Yahoo Finance reported the move put Intel on pace for a fourth straight record high, making the Apple report the latest spark in a chip rally that has lifted several semiconductor names.
The two companies had held intensive talks for more than a year and reached a formal arrangement in recent months, the Journal reported. Apple and Intel declined to comment to the Journal, according to 9to5Mac, which cited the report; Reuters said Intel declined to comment and Apple did not immediately respond to a request.
The agreement would not mean Apple is returning to Intel-designed processors. Apple now designs its own main chips for devices such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac; the issue is who manufactures them, and at what scale.
Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Apple had explored using Intel and Samsung Electronics to produce its main device processors in the United States. Apple executives also visited a Samsung chip plant under development in Texas, Bloomberg said.
That gives the deal a wider competitive frame. TSMC remains Apple’s main advanced-chip manufacturer, while Samsung is still trying to narrow the gap in contract chipmaking. Nvidia’s demand for advanced wafers has added strain to capacity across the sector.
Apple’s need for more chip capacity has been visible in its own numbers. Chief Executive Tim Cook told Reuters last week that iPhone demand was “off the charts,” but that Apple had “less flexibility” in the supply chain for getting more parts. Reuters
The Journal also reported that the U.S. government played a role in bringing Apple to the table with Intel. Reuters said the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had flagged the possibility months earlier, saying Intel’s chances of becoming an Apple advanced-node supplier had “improved significantly.” He also wrote that future Intel nodes could make the company’s long-term outlook “more positive” if Apple and other top customers followed. The Verge
There are still clear risks. The agreement is preliminary, the product scope has not been disclosed, and earlier reporting said Apple had concerns about reliability and scale outside TSMC’s technology base. A foundry win only matters if Intel can deliver high yields, steady supply and Apple-level quality.
For now, the market is trading the report as a validation moment for Intel. For Apple, it is leverage — and possibly insurance — in a chip supply chain where capacity, politics and AI demand are now moving faster than product cycles.
