OpenAI's CEO has given his verdict on whether the tech giants should look towards an alternative to TSMC, such as Intel Foundry, and Altman claims he would rather stick with the Taiwan giant.
Sam Altman Isn't Inclined Towards the Idea of Using Intel Foundry For Now, But The Prospect Is Always There
The idea that Intel is a viable alternative to TSMC in semiconductor manufacturing has gained significant traction in the mainstream media, particularly following the collaboration between the US government and Team Blue. Personalities like NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang, AMD's CEO Lisa Su, Jim Keller, and now, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman are being asked about whether they would see Intel as an option to consider alongside TSMC for their chip needs, and while many of them have responded with 'reserved' answers, Altman has taken a more straightforward approach. In an interview with Stratechery, here's what he had to say about Intel:
Question: Well, with this, the problem with this is both Nvidia and AMD are sourced at the same place, so there’s another solitary entity in the value chain, which is TSMC. Do you see a need and responsibility/opportunity to expand the market there as well? Is this something where when it comes to the question of Intel.
Altman: I would like TSMC to just build more capacity.
Question: What did you think I was asking, about multi-chip suppliers?
Altman: Do I see a need to get TSMC to expand their rate of investment in more capacity?
Of course, when you look at OpenAI itself, the firm isn't involved in the manufacturing business up till now, but we do know that the tech giant is developing a dedicated AI chip, which is claimed to feature TSMC's 3nm process. Altman defintely knows a bit or two about the semiconductor supply chain, which is why his verdict around using Intel's foundry services do hold weight, but this isn't an outright rejection here, rather the statement of OpenAI's CEO indicates that the preference is here to rely on a consistent partner, instead of a dual-sourcing strategy.
Interestingly, AMD's CEO was asked about using Intel as a foundry partner, and she, too, gave a rather uncertain response. Yet again, tech giants understand that committing to US manufacturing is a long-term goal for them, and relying on TSMC alone won't be enough. The Taiwan giant requires time and suitable logistics to shift a significant portion of its production from Taiwan to the US. To mitigate the existing supply constraints, a secondary chip partner is needed, whether it is Intel or Samsung.
For now, tech giants would definitely be looking towards how Intel's 18A node pans out in terms of process efficiency, performance, and production volumes, since this will be one of the deciding factors towards whether the IFS is suitable to bear the flag of American manufacturing.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
