In what seems to be a deal from another universe, AMD is in talks to have its semiconductors manufactured by long-time rival Intel Corp.
According to a report from Semafor, talks are in the early stages and it is unclear how much manufacturing Intel would do for AMD, if any at all. It is quite possible no agreement will be made.
The move could be part of the Trump Administration’s path toward bolstering the faltering Intel to help with returning semiconductor manufacturing to the U.S. Other so-called lifelines to Intel have already been done by SoftBank and Nvidia.
AMD may be trying to stay off the tariff radar and stay in the good graces of the Trump Administration by making such a deal, the Semafor report said.
Currently, AMD manufactures its semiconductors with the world’s largest foundry and chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Intel also has some of its chips built by the Taiwanese giant. TSMC is also under pressure from the U.S. to shift some (potentially as much as 50%) to the States. TSMC said it won’t happen.
As with many rumors that have been made about Intel over the past year or so, take it with a grain of salt until more information becomes available.
Flurry of activity
Struggling to gain footing in the semiconductor manufacturing space, Intel has seen a flurry of support and investment in the last few months.
The Trump Administration converted its direct funding from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act into equity in the company, taking about a 10% stake in the company. The move is rare for the U.S. government to take a direct investment in a public company.
The stake is seen as a step toward bolstering domestic U.S. manufacturing for everything from semiconductors to vehicles, to all types of goods and services. With the semiconductor supply chain shifting to more regional manufacturing due to geopolitical issues and the fallout from COVID-19, having a more resilient supply chain domestically will help offset any potential disruptions that happen globally. At least, in theory.
SoftBank also invested $2 billion in Intel common stock, a move that deepens the companies already existing collaborations.
Nvidia also invested $5 billion in Intel in September of 2025 to co-develop chips for data centers and PCs.
Decades of rivalry
Early in the development of x86 processors, AMD and Intel fought for dominance. This rivalry has lasted for decades starting in the early 1970s until today. While Intel long dominated many of these decades, AMD staged a comeback through its Ryzen consumer PC processors and EPYC server chips.
This coupled with Intel’s delays in moving to smaller manufacturing nodes and current financial issues has created an environment today where both companies fiercely compute across PCs, servers and AI.
Just as it was 50 years ago, the two leading companies in the microprocessor space are battling it out for dominance. However, this agreement would be a different twist to this long and interesting history between the firms.
