An Intel employee holding a silicon wafer at the company’s Chandler, Ariz. , fabrication plant. Credit. Philip Cheung for The New York Times Reporting from San Francisco President Trump said in a social media post on Thursday that Apple was going to buy computer chips from Intel.
The deal would be a significant break for Intel, the troubled Silicon Valley chip maker that has struggled to find big customers in recent years.
While neither company has publicly discussed the deal, it would also be a notable moment for the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen domestic chip manufacturing. Apple is among the world’s largest buyers of semiconductors.
But for more than a decade, it has made the majority of the chips that power its iPhones, Macs and other devices in Taiwan, an island that China considers a breakaway territory.
The Trump administration has been pressuring Apple to manufacture more of its technology in the United States, and it threatened to put tariffs on the semiconductors that Apple made overseas.
Last year, the administration stepped up its pressure on Apple after acquiring a 10 percent stake in Intel for $8. 9 billion. “I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America,” Mr. Trump said in his social media post.
Intel declined to comment, and Apple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. In his post, Mr. Trump detailed his efforts to bring the semiconductor industry “back to the U. S. A. ” He said the administration helped persuade Nvidia last year to buy a $5 billion stake in Intel.
It later worked with Elon Musk, the president said, to negotiate a deal with Intel to use its technology to run a chip manufacturing plant called Terafab, which Mr. Musk is developing. Finally, Mr.
Trump said in his post, “Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America. ” We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
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