Semicon Briefing

Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary agreement under which Intel will manufacture chips for Apple devices in the future – after a year of secret negotiations. The deal catapulted the Intel stock by 8% and signals the clearest proof to date that Intel's foundry pivot is working and TSMC faces serious competitive pressure for the first time.

According to media reports, Tesla is exploring partial manufacturing of its AI6.5 chips at Intel instead of TSMC, and Nvidia is evaluating Intel's EMIB packaging technology. The accumulation of multiple major customers signals a structural shift in foundry hierarchy – not just an Apple single case.

Bank of America expects the Apple-Intel deal to trigger an investment wave of up to €4.6 billion in new manufacturing equipment – with ASML as the primary beneficiary for EUV lithography systems. This is the first concrete estimate of a direct equipment demand effect from the deal and quantifies the downstream impact for the first time.

SkyWater shareholders unanimously approved the acquisition by quantum computing company IonQ; closing expected in Q2/Q3 2026. The merger combines trapped-ion quantum technology with the only purely U.S. semiconductor foundry and creates a new category: quantum-capable contract manufacturing.

Infineon is acquiring the analog and mixed-signal sensor business from ams OSRAM for €570 million – the German Federal Cartel Office decision is still pending in Q2 2026. Meanwhile, ams OSRAM sold its CMOS image sensor division for only €40 million to indie Semiconductor, underscoring its radical reorientation toward digital photonics and significantly strengthening Infineon's sensor portfolio.

At the Trump-Xi summit, Beijing is attempting to negotiate relief on U.S. chip export controls while U.S. CEOs push for market access; simultaneously, the U.S. Congress passes the MATCH Act on a bipartisan basis, which would further restrict sales of DUV lithography systems and etching equipment to China. The contradiction between trade diplomacy and legislative pressure intensifies strategic uncertainty for all equipment makers.