Apple, Intel have reached preliminary chip-making deal, WSJ reports

The two companies held talks for over a year and finalised a formal deal in recent months

Intel and Apple logos are seen in this illustration taken September 24, 2025.PHOTO: REUTERS

Intel has reached a preliminary deal with Apple to make some of the chips that power the iPhone maker’s devices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, in ​a major boost for the chipmaker’s bid to revive its manufacturing business.

The companies were engaged ā€Œin intensive talks for more than a year and they hammered out a formal deal in recent months, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Read More: Apple’s iPhone shipments in China surge 20% in Q1, data shows

Intel stock extended gains to rise 15% on the news, while AppleĀ shares ​were up about 1.7% in afternoon trading.

Landing an Apple contract will give Intel a steady stream ​of demand from one of the world’s largest consumer electronics companies, bolstering both ⁠its reputation and a manufacturing business that has fallen behind TSMC in recent years.

The Journal report said ​that the USĀ government, which became Intel’s largest shareholder last year under a deal with its CEO ​Lip-Bu Tan, played a major role in bringing Apple to the negotiating table.

It is unclear which Apple products Intel would make chips for, according to the report. Apple and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters‘ requests for ​comment; Intel declined to comment.

For Apple, a deal with Intel could mean a diversification in manufacturing, giving ​it the ability to secure more capacity as it has been beholden to extremely tight capacity at TSMC.

At its most ā€Œrecent ⁠earnings, Apple CEO Tim Cook said iPhone sales wereĀ held backĀ by supply constraints at its contract manufacturer.

TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and makes advanced wafers for AI firms such as Nvidia and AMDĀ but the swelling demand has made securing chip capacity extremely difficult.

Big win for Intel

Intel has spent the last ​yearĀ signing deals with the ​USĀ governmentĀ and securing ⁠investments from AI chip giantĀ NvidiaĀ andĀ SoftBankĀ amid a push from CEO Lip-Bu Tan to turn the chipmaker around.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has met repeatedly over the ​last year with high-ranking Apple officials, including Cook, SpaceX chief ​Elon Musk ⁠and Nvidia head Jensen Huang, to try to convince them to get into business with Intel, the WSJ report said.

Last month, Musk said TeslaĀ will use Intel’s next-generation 14A manufacturing processĀ to make chips at its Terafab project, ⁠an ​advanced AI chip complex Musk has envisioned in Austin.

Earlier this ​week, Bloomberg News reported thatĀ Apple had held exploratory discussionsĀ about using Intel and Samsung to produce main processors for its devices.

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