Overview
- President Trump posted on Truth Social on June 18 that Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture some chips in the United States, and markets sent Intel shares sharply higher that day.
- Reporting recalls a Wall Street Journal story from May that said the companies reached a preliminary agreement after more than a year of talks, but neither Apple nor Intel has formally confirmed terms, volumes, product scope, or a timetable.
- Intel this week said its 18A/18A‑P process entered initial risk production, a technical milestone that analysts say is important but does not equal full commercial scale needed for mass production.
- The U.S. government’s roughly 10 percent stake in Intel, acquired under CHIPS‑era support, is cited by coverage as a factor that helped facilitate talks and that creates political and market implications for the deal.
- Industry analysts say early U.S. output would likely target mature or lower‑end Apple parts to diversify supply away from TSMC and that wider-volume production on cutting‑edge nodes would depend on yields and capacity with possible commercial scale not expected before mid‑2027.