WASHINGTON, March 5, 2026, 11:34 EST
- Senators Warren and Cotton have pressed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan for answers on reports of ACM chipmaking tools being tested.
- Intel says its semiconductor production processes don’t use ACM tools.
- Intel CFO David Zinsner says the company is rethinking whether to offer its 18A manufacturing process to external customers.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan Senate group led by Elizabeth Warren and Tom Cotton pushed Intel Corp (INTC.O) for answers about its reported use of chipmaking equipment from ACM Research (ACMR.O), flagging national security concerns. “Intel’s relationship with ACM is concerning,” the lawmakers told CEO Lip-Bu Tan in a letter. Senate
This comes at a tricky time for Intel. Tan’s working to win back trust from both customers and policymakers, with Intel pushing to reclaim its manufacturing lead and ramp up its foundry, or contract chipmaking, operations.
Intel is taking another look at a central strategy piece. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said that Tan is now weighing whether to open up the company’s 18A process—a next-gen chipmaking tech—to external clients, after it was mostly kept in-house last year. “This is actually a good node to offer to external customers as well,” Zinsner said during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference in San Francisco. Intel shares climbed around 6% on Wednesday. Reuters
In a letter dated March 4, senators referenced a Reuters report detailing Intel’s testing of two ACM “wet etch” tools—machines that use chemicals to carve out the intricate patterns on chips. The letter pointed out that the Commerce Department had already placed two ACM subsidiaries on its Entity List, restricting exports, and highlighted ACM’s relationships with Chinese chipmakers including SMIC and YMTC. The lawmakers also noted that Intel received $10.86 billion via the CHIPS and Science Act, later funneled $8.9 billion of that into an equity investment, which left U.S. taxpayers holding about a 10% ownership stake. They set a March 20 deadline for Intel to respond in writing. Senate
Intel said its semiconductor production doesn’t use ACM tools, and stressed it follows U.S. law, regularly communicating with U.S. officials on security. ACM, for its part, didn’t respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The company had previously disclosed it sent three tools to a large U.S. chipmaker for testing, with its American business kept apart from the sanctioned Shanghai division.
Intel’s board is also undergoing changes. Craig H. Barratt will take over as independent chair once Frank D. Yeary steps down after the May 13 annual meeting. Tan took the opportunity to commend Yeary in the announcement: “I want to thank Frank for his commitment to Intel and his strong leadership as chair,” he said. Intc
Yeary is stepping down just as Intel pushes to catch up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW) and other competitors in cutting-edge chipmaking. “Intel has made a lot of bad decisions” during Yeary’s board tenure, Seaport Securities analyst Jay Goldberg told Reuters. Barratt, Reuters noted, previously spent time at Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and had a short stint at Intel. Reuters
For Tan, that Senate letter throws another wrench into a turnaround that already rides on convincing customers Intel can deliver—action, not just promises.
The result isn’t locked in yet. Should lawmakers insist on stricter controls over which tools get tested on advanced development lines, Intel risks running into holdups as it tries to qualify equipment and ramp new process technology into mass production. All this comes as the company is already working to boost yields—the percentage of good chips per wafer—to help guard its margins.
This episode piles fresh scrutiny onto a turnaround effort that’s entangled with both engineering challenges and Washington’s oversight.
