Intel's success in attracting Microsoft as a customer in the chip foundry business marked a key victory for the company in reversing losses.
Microsoft and Intel said at an event on Wednesday that Microsoft plans to use Intel's 18A manufacturing technology to produce self-developed chips. They didn't say exactly what product it was, but Microsoft recently announced plans to develop two self-developed chips. One is a computer processor and the other is an artificial intelligence accelerator.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is deepening the chip foundry business
Intel has always sought to prove its competitive edge in the foundry market. The foundry chip business is a major transformation for this semiconductor pioneer. Recently, Intel is trying to catch up with leading companies in the industry such as TSMC.
At the same time, Microsoft is also seeking to ensure a stable supply of semiconductors to power its own data center operations, particularly as demand for artificial intelligence grows. Self-developed chips also allow Microsoft to fine-tune the product according to its own specific needs.
Most so-called chip makers don't actually own factories, but instead outsource production to companies such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics. Intel lags far behind TSMC and Samsung in the foundry market, but the company aims to surpass Samsung by at least 2030. Last year, Intel's revenue from the outsourcing business was less than 1 billion US dollars, while TSMC was close to 70 billion US dollars, with a market share as high as 60%. According to industry research reports, Samsung's share in the chip foundry market is about 15%.