Apple and Intel Team Up to Make Chips in America, With $9 Billion in Government Help

Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to manufacture chips for Apple devices, according to The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. government is backing the deal with a $9 billion grant.

This is notable because Apple and Intel parted ways over a decade ago. Apple used Intel processors in its Mac computers for 15 years, but starting in 2020, Apple stopped using Intel chips and started making its own, called the M-series. Now the two companies are working together again, but in a different way—Intel is being asked to manufacture chips that Apple designs.

Why This Matters for Intel

For Intel, this is important because the company has been trying to become a chip manufacturer for hire. Starting in 2021, Intel launched a service called Intel Foundry Services, aiming to manufacture chips for other companies, much like Taiwan's TSMC does. Getting Apple as a customer would be a big vote of confidence that Intel can do this work reliably.

Currently, Intel's manufacturing capabilities are not quite as advanced as TSMC's, though the company is investing heavily to catch up. Still being worked out are details like which specific chips Intel would make, how many, and when production would start.

Managing Risk by Spreading Out Production

Apple is currently relying heavily on TSMC—a company in Taiwan—to make most of its chips, including the processors in iPhones and Macs. By working with Intel as well, Apple is spreading its chip production across two suppliers instead of one. This reduces the risk that a problem with TSMC would shut down Apple's entire supply chain.

Technology companies learned this lesson during the pandemic, when global supply chains broke down. Having a backup plan has become essential.

The Government's Role

The $9 billion grant comes from the CHIPS and Science Act, a law passed by the Biden administration that set aside $52 billion to help build semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. The government wants to make sure America isn't too dependent on other countries—particularly Taiwan and South Korea—for the chips that power modern life.

This is an old playbook. The federal government has historically invested in technology to stay competitive during periods of international tension. The space race of the 1960s, for example, spurred early advances in chip manufacturing. Today, the concern is geopolitical risk and the need to keep advanced manufacturing at home.

What Comes Next

The agreement is only preliminary, meaning negotiations are still happening. The real question is whether Intel can actually deliver—whether it can manufacture chips at the same quality and speed that TSMC does, and do it at a cost that makes sense.

If Intel succeeds with Apple, it could open the door for other major tech companies—Amazon, Google, Microsoft—to also have their chips made domestically. This agreement could reshape how and where technology companies manufacture their products.

The broader context here is that the U.S. sees semiconductor manufacturing as essential infrastructure, much like power plants or highways. Bringing that manufacturing home, with the support of both federal money and major customers like Apple, is a bet that domestic capacity matters for national security and economic strength in the long term.