The Biden administration reportedly pushed tech giants like NVIDIA and AMD to consider sourcing chips from Intel in an effort to revive the struggling American manufacturer. According to Bloomberg, the White House even floated ambitious ideas such as a partnership between Intel and GlobalFoundries.
However, these attempts failed, largely because Intel lacks the production capacity required by companies that already rely heavily on TSMC’s advanced nodes.
Now, with Donald Trump back in the political spotlight, the question has resurfaced: could his administration succeed where Biden’s did not? While some argue the U.S. must support Intel for national security and technological sovereignty, others see the effort as throwing money at a company that’s years behind its rivals. Intel’s High-NA EUV technology, a crucial step in catching up with TSMC, has already been delayed until around 2030, leaving doubts about whether Team Blue can ever reclaim its leadership.
Recently, SoftBank invested in Intel, sparking speculation of potential collaboration with ARM. Intel even demonstrated a reference non-x86 SoC design using third-party IP, hinting at a possible shift toward broader architectures. Still, critics argue that without real technological breakthroughs and competitive pricing, neither NVIDIA nor AMD has any incentive to source chips from a direct competitor.
The U.S. government faces a dilemma: prioritize Intel’s revival or double down on attracting foreign players like TSMC to build fabs in America. For now, Intel’s future seems to rely less on patriotic persuasion and more on whether it can actually deliver the kind of chips the market demands.