Intel Said to Approach TSMC; TSMC Denies

The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel approached TSMC about possible investments in Intel’s manufacturing operations or a production partnership and also made parallel outreach to Apple. TSMC denied the report, saying it has not entered talks on investments, joint ventures, licensing or technology transfers and reiterated comments by Chairman C.C. Wei. Intel has attracted outside capital — including a roughly 10% U.S. government stake, $2 billion from SoftBank and $5 billion from Nvidia — as it pours billions into a foundry push that has so far struggled to win major customers. Markets reacted unevenly: Intel shares rose in premarket trading while TSMC American depositary receipts fell amid client-trust and competition concerns. Analysts warn any tie-up would raise competitive, regulatory and client-trust issues and could reverberate across tech markets and demand for high-performance chips used in AI and crypto.