Intel still has not learned its lesson as Apple puts greater trust in TSMC

Apple’s trust in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has barely wavered, while Intel continues trying to recover from losing Apple’s chip business, according to an analysis cited by Apple Insider.

Columnist Tim Culpan wrote that a “trust problem” lay at the root of Intel’s earlier loss of Apple’s business. Even after Intel regained some work from Apple, the relationship remained fragile. Apple moved away from Intel chips in 2020 as it developed its own processors, a decision that also benefited TSMC, which manufactured Apple’s chips.

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more trust in TSMC

The relationship between Intel and Apple had already been marked by repeated negotiations and tension. Intel had rejected Steve Jobs’s effort to persuade it to make mobile processors, allowing Samsung to enter the picture. Apple also distrusted Samsung because it was both a supplier and a competitor, and Jobs placed greater emphasis on user experience than on chip performance.

TSMC built its foundry model through work with companies including Nvidia and Qualcomm. It did not compete directly with customers by developing and selling its own chips, helping it establish credibility. Nvidia founder Jensen Huang described that trust as “meaningful.”

The article traces Apple’s relationship with TSMC to a meeting involving Foxconn chairman Terry Gou, TSMC founder Morris Chang and Apple vice president Jeff Williams around the end of 2010. Apple eventually paused negotiations while considering Intel as a potential foundry. In March 2011, Tim Cook, then Apple’s acting chief executive, reassured Chang that Intel did not know how to operate as a foundry.

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meaningful

Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan, who took the job in March 2025, introduced tighter financial discipline. The company slowed its Ohio wafer-factory project and canceled planned plants in Germany and Poland. That approach created a capacity dilemma: Apple and other large customers want proof that a supplier can deliver before committing orders, while Intel wants confirmed orders before expanding capacity.

Intel later tried to show Apple it could increase production quickly, but reportedly told equipment suppliers that Apple was already a customer so the company could receive priority for new hardware. The move clashed with Apple’s strict culture of secrecy and damaged Intel’s credibility. Apple has maintained cooperation with Intel despite lower trust, while TSMC continues to emphasize discretion and avoiding direct competition with customers.

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It is not as simple as going to 7-Eleven to buy milk.