President Donald Trump announced on June 18 that Apple has agreed to partner with Intel to design and build chips in the United States, a move he said would reduce American dependence on foreign semiconductor manufacturing and marks a new chapter for Intel’s struggling foundry business.
Trump posted the announcement on Truth Social, describing the deal as a significant step toward domestic chip production. Neither Apple nor Intel issued formal press releases confirming the terms, but Intel shares rose more than 9 percent in premarket trading following the statement, and both companies declined to deny the arrangement when contacted by reporters.
The reported deal centres on Intel manufacturing some Apple-designed processors, though no confirmed details have emerged on which chip families, production volumes, devices, or consumer timeline would be involved. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported in May that a preliminary agreement was in place after more than a year of discussions between the two companies.
For Apple, the arrangement could reduce its near-total dependence on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which currently produces the chips used across iPhone, Mac, and iPad product lines. TSMC’s dominance in leading-edge chip production has been a source of geopolitical concern in Washington, particularly given tensions over Taiwan. Apple has been under pressure from the Trump administration to diversify its supply chain toward US-based manufacturing.
For Intel, the deal would be a meaningful validation of its foundry strategy. The company has invested tens of billions of dollars in building out domestic chip fabrication facilities in Arizona and Ohio under its Intel Foundry Services division, but has struggled to attract major external customers at leading-edge process nodes. Apple would be among the most commercially significant customers it could land.
The announcement came on the same day US markets closed for Juneteenth, limiting the market’s ability to fully price in the news. Intel’s jump came in thin pre-holiday trading. The Apple iOS 27 partnership with Google’s Gemini announced at WWDC earlier this month already signalled Apple’s willingness to work with new technology partners this year. The FERC power grid directive issued the same week shows the breadth of federal intervention in technology infrastructure decisions. The full scope of the Apple-Intel arrangement is expected to become clearer once either company makes a formal filing or public statement.
