Nvidia is apparently considering turning to Intel to manufacture its chips based on recent remarks from the company's CEO Jensen Huang.
During a call with reporters, Huang explained that the chip giant is interested in the company using its foundries and that it was open to exploring the idea. However, he also noted that foundry discussions take a long time since they involve integrating supply chains according to a new report from Reuters.
As it stands now, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is responsible for building the majority of Nvidia's chips. However, TSMC also manufacturers chips for AMD, Apple, Broadcom, MediaTek and many other large firms.
The reporters on the call asked Huang about whether he was concerned about working with a competitor like Intel to which he said that working with industry partners is key for the company and that it has worked with Intel for a long time. In fact, “Intel has known our secrets for years,” he said.
Intel's foundry business
After mainly producing chips it had designed itself, early last year Intel decided to expand its business by making chips that others had designed as part of its new foundry services business. As part of this expansion, the company announced a number of multibillion-dollar projects to build new manufacturing centers in both the US and Europe.
As such, investors have been eagerly waiting for chip design companies to make public comments about using Intel's chip factories as opposed to those owned by TSMC. Last year Intel revealed that Qualcomm and Amazon would be some of the first customers for its foundry business.
Following a recent US Senate hearing, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters that the company is “thrilled” that Nvidia wants to use its foundry capabilities. Although there is “no particular timeline” for when this will start, Gelsinger did confirm that there are ongoing discussions between the two companies.
We'll have to wait and see if Nvidia does decide to have Intel begin building some of its chips but if it does happen, expect other large tech companies to follow suit.
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Via Reuters
