Intel rumoured to be outsourcing CPU and chipset production to TSMC… again

Industry insiders are claiming that Intel will be outsourcing some CPU and chipset production to TSMC. The foundry giant, currently leading the charge on the 7nm process node, would reportedly be easing the demand on Intel’s overloaded fabs. This would involve taking over production of Intel's entry-level Atom processors and some undisclosed chipsets. Intel was previously tipped to be offloading some demand from its 14nm fabs to the foundry giant earlier in the year, although these claims were swiftly brushed off by Intel. The company’s official response to the claims read: “In response to the stronger than expected demand environment, we are continuing to invest in Intel’s 14nm manufacturing capacity.” The Intel CFO and interim CEO, Bob Swan, later published an open letter outlining an extra $1 billion worth of capital expenditure for 2018. This was specifically aimed at bolstering manufacturing sites in Oregon, Arizona, Ireland, and Israel, which Swan indicates is in response to higher than expected demand. Outside of Intel, the supply constraints have been almost universally been contributed to Intel's problems developing the 10nm process node.