1. Stock Price Soars! Intel Experiences Its Strongest Market Performance in 25 Years
Today, Intel’s pre-market stock price surged again by 5%, with a nearly 40% increase throughout September! More astonishingly, on September 25, the stock price skyrocketed by 8.87% in a single day, closing at $33.99, the highest price since July 2024, and continued to rise by 1.30% after hours.
How fierce is this market trend? Compared to the $20.47 cost price when the U.S. government invested last month, the stock price has surged nearly 70%, with a market value increase of $8.9 billion in just one day. More critically, this has allowed Intel to achieve its best single-week increase in 25 years, completely breaking free from its previous sluggish state.
2. Three Core Benefits Supporting the Stock Price Surge
1. Collaboration with TSMC: A Key Turning Point from Competitors to “Allies”
The most stimulating factor for the market is the manufacturing collaboration that Intel is negotiating with TSMC. According to Reuters citing the Wall Street Journal, both parties are discussing manufacturing investments or partnerships, which is not the first contact — they had previously discussed establishing a joint venture in April, with TSMC proposing to hold a 20% stake.
The latest developments indicate that the collaboration may adopt a “technology for patents” model: TSMC will invest in advanced process technology in exchange for Intel’s Foveros 3D stacking and other packaging patents, aiming for mass production of 2nm chips by 2026. Even more significantly, TSMC has proposed to jointly establish a joint venture with NVIDIA, AMD, etc., to operate Intel’s $108 billion wafer foundry business, which the U.S. government fully supports, believing it aligns with the chip self-sufficiency strategy.
2. Giants Invest Heavily: Government + NVIDIA + SoftBank All Provide Support
The confidence behind the stock price surge comes from substantial investments:
1) The U.S. government invested $8.9 billion to acquire a 9.9% stake, becoming the largest single shareholder, with funds sourced from the CHIPS and Science Act subsidies;
2) NVIDIA added $5 billion to its stake, and both parties will jointly develop PC and data center chips, with Intel CPUs integrating NVIDIA GPUs;
3) Japan’s SoftBank had already made early investments, injecting $2 billion in August.
3. Technological Breakthrough: 2nm Process Confirmed, Dual-Track Production Capacity
The collaboration is not just talk; Intel has joined TSMC’s list of first customers for the 2nm process, with the next-generation Nova Lake PC processor set to use this process. This chip is planned to feature 52 hybrid cores, significantly upgrading performance, but due to internal 18A process capacity pressures, it has chosen a “self-developed + foundry” dual-track model — high-end chips will be entrusted to TSMC, while the rest will be self-produced.
This is already proof of the deep binding between the two parties: previously, multiple products such as Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake processors, and Alchemist GPUs were all produced by TSMC.
3. Behind the Celebration, Risks and Opportunities Coexist
Despite the booming market, institutions like Citibank have sounded the alarm: TSMC is internally concerned about technology leakage, and Intel executives also oppose the potential layoffs and technology weakening risks that cooperation may bring, as both parties have yet to reach a final agreement.
However, optimists see that Intel is transforming from a “lone wolf” to a “hub”: relying on TSMC to solve process bottlenecks while leveraging NVIDIA’s AI technology to fill gaps, and also gaining government endorsement. If the collaboration materializes, its foundry business is expected to attract major clients like Apple and Qualcomm, completely reversing the downturn.
4. Conclusion: Is the Semiconductor Industry About to Change?
From a sluggish stock price to a monthly surge of 40%, Intel’s turnaround is driven by a threefold resonance of the U.S. chip self-sufficiency strategy, integration of giant resources, and technological breakthroughs. TSMC’s attitude will be crucial — this leading foundry has already invested $100 billion in building three factories in the U.S., and its collaboration with Intel may just be the beginning.
Do you think Intel can make a complete comeback? Feel free to discuss in the comments!