Intel Surges 8% as TSMC Proposes Foundry Joint Venture With Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom

• TSMC has proposed jointly operating Intel’s foundry division with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom.
• U.S. President Trump and TSMC announced a further $1 billion investment in the U.S.
•  TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said building in the U.S. takes double the time it would take in Taiwan.

Shares in Intel rose nearly 8% on Wednesday after reports that TSMC was in discussions with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom to jointly operate the fledgling company’s factories.

Under the proposal, TSMC would operate Intel’s factories while holding less than a 50% stake.

TSMC Proposes Intel Takeover

TSMC is looking to take over Intel’s foundry division with more than one chip designer as a partner, sources told Reuters.

The chip giant’s proposal has reportedly been backed by Intel’s board members and held a number of separate discussions with TSMC.

The sources said TSMC’s joint venture proposal was pitched before the company announced its $100 billion investment in five new U.S. chip facilities.

Several companies have moved to purchase parts of Intel, but the company has reportedly rejected discussions about selling its chip design sector from its foundry division.

Trump Calls for Intel Aid

The proposal comes after U.S. President Donald Trump requested that TSMC assist Intel in turning around its falling revenue, according to sources.

The sources said the Trump administration would need to approve a finalized deal, adding that the President does not want Intel or any of its divisions to be fully foreign-owned.

Trump has been pushing to revive Intel’s foundry business as he looks to boost domestic U.S. advanced manufacturing, the sources told Reuters.

In Intel’s first earnings call of 2025, the company reported its third consecutive quarterly net loss of $126 million, bringing its net loss for the year to $18.8bn.

Interim co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus said “AI data center… is an attractive market for us over time, but I am not happy with where we are today.”

Domestic U.S. AI Development Push

The push for advanced semiconductor manufacturing on U.S. soil has been a major policy focus in recent years, with both the Trump administration and its predecessors emphasizing the importance of reducing dependence on foreign supply chains.

TSMC’s latest announcement follows a previous $65 billion investment in Arizona, expected to create thousands of jobs.

However, in January, Wei said building the Arizona factory had taken more than double the time it would have taken in Taiwan.

“Every step requires a permit, and after the permit is approved, it takes at least twice as long as in Taiwan,” Wei said .

This highlighted the regulatory challenges the U.S. faces compared to elsewhere in the world, leading to slower development times.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he deeply agreed with Trump on “how difficult it has become to build things in the U.S.”

“Power plants, data centers, any of that kind of stuff,” he said.

The OpenAI CEO said that the “bureaucratic cruft” that piles up was not helpful to the country and its future goals.