A deal between Intel and Apple could lead to higher demand for chip manufacturing and bonding machines, suggests a report from Bank of America. Media reports have suggested that Apple and Intel have signed an agreement through which some of Apple's chips would be made by Intel. As of now, Apple is believed to procure its chips from Taiwan's TSMC, and following the reports, BofA is out with some fresh estimates about the deal's value and its impact on the chip manufacturing equipment industry.
Intel Could Order As Much As €4.6 Billion Worth Of Machines From ASML In Case Of Apple's Order, Says BofA
BofA's coverage, reported in the Dutch media, estimates that a deal between Intel and Apple could be worth $10 billion. While initially reported in the Chinese media, the purported deal was reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier this month. It claimed that the two had entered into a preliminary agreement after conducting negotiations for more than a year. However, details about the technology that Apple might use or which products Intel might manufacture remained unclear.
Now, according to BofA, not only can the deal be worth $10 billion, but it can also spur demand for chip manufacturing machines. The two firms that it mentions in its coverage are the Dutch semiconductor manufacturing equipment producers ASML and BE Semiconductor. ASML is the world's only producer of EUV chip manufacturing machines, which are indispensable for manufacturing the latest chips.
Intel's Equipment Spend For Apple Deal Will Depend On The iPhone, Says BofA
The other firm, BE Semiconductor, could see a bump in orders for its hybrid bonding machines if Apple also contracts Intel for packaging and bonding products and services. The chip manufacturing giant has aggressively marketed its packaging services lately, as high demand due to the AI buildout constrains the packaging capacity of Taiwan's TSMC.
As per BofA, if the Intel and Apple deal also includes the iPhone, then Intel could order as many as 182 hybrid bonding machines from BE Semiconductor, while without the iPhone, the order could sit at 15 machines. The 182 order batch is significantly higher than the 80 machines Intel is expected to order between 2024 and 2030.
The orders for ASML could sit at €1.8 billion in the standard case and at a strong €4.6 billion if the deal also includes the iPhone, says the analyst. This is because in the case of the latter scenario, Intel will also need 15 EUV lithography machines worth €4.6 billion.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
