An Intel executive says the startup’s business is expanding as customer interest grows
Intel Chief executive Lip-Bu Tan said on Monday that the company’s overseas manufacturing business is growing, emerging as an important part of the manufacturer’s transformation.
“Foundry is very important,” Tan told Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “Mad Money.” “It is one of the most important national treasures.”
Intel’s manufacturing business, known as the Foundry, is the most expensive and important part of the company’s renewal strategy. It is designed to produce semiconductors for foreign customers while helping to rebuild the US’s advanced chip manufacturing capabilities after years of overseas dominance. Historically, Intel factories produced its own chips used in personal computers and data center servers. Tan’s predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, championed an expensive foreign innovation strategy.
Intel shares have risen more than 300% since Tan was named CEO in March 2025, as investors bet the longtime semiconductor executive will stabilize the struggling chipmaker after years of setbacks. One of the big questions was whether Tan would be able to make good on Intel Foundry’s ambitions by making its manufacturing capabilities competitive with the likes of Intel. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co..
Tan said the company is starting to make visible progress towards that goal.
In particular, Tan pointed to the development of Intel’s improved 18A manufacturing process, which has been closely watched by investors as a key test for change. He said when he took over, the 18A process was “not good.”
“Now I can see it,” said Tan, who led chip design software maker Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021 and served on Intel’s board for two years ending in 2024.
Manufacturing yield, the percentage of usable chips produced from each wafer, is an important metric of profitability and customer confidence in the innovation business. Tan said Intel’s progress exceeded expectations.
“The best thing is to see the yield improve by 7% or 8% per month, now I can see it,” he said.
The development is starting to attract customer interest, according to Tan. As Intel’s manufacturing operations improve, he said more customers are approaching the company in terms of leveraging its innovation business.
On May 8, the Wall Street Journal reported that Intel and Apple reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to produce some of Apple’s chips, which are currently produced by TSMC. When Cramer asked Tan about those reports, the CEO declined to discuss clients by name.
However, Tan said Intel expects to commit to more established customers in the second half of the year. “Many customers, they cooperate with us,” he said. “We look forward to serving them.”
The comments are consistent with what Intel executives previously told investors. On the company’s earnings call in April, CFO David Zinsner said Intel expects signals from foreign customers to be “concrete” in the second half of the year and in early 2027.
Beyond Intel’s transformation, Tan has made the innovation business strategically important to the US semiconductor supply chain. Intel has built a new plant in Arizona, where it uses the 18A process, while a separate project in Ohio has faced major delays and is not scheduled to begin production until at least 2030.
“90 percent plus of the most advanced processors are manufactured outside the country,” he said. “So, I think it’s important to bring some of them back.”
Looking ahead, Tan said Intel’s next-generation 14A process could eventually compete with TSMC, which is widely regarded as a leading third-party manufacturer.
“It will be at the same time as TSMC,” he said. “That’s a big, big result.”
