June 9, 2026 · 03:48 Uhr
Google has committed Intel to produce over 3 million AI chips (TPUs) for 2028, while simultaneously Nvidia tests Intel's 18A process and advanced packaging for future GPU architectures. Both tech giants are actively diversifying away from TSMC – a historic vote of confidence in Intel's revitalized foundry division.
TSMC joined as a Founding Partner in Applied Materials' $5 billion EPIC Center – following Samsung, Micron, SK Hynix, and Advantest. The partnership aims to accelerate AI chip technologies together with three universities and cements AMAT as the central supplier to the entire foundry elite.
The EU Commission has adopted the draft for Chips Act 2.0: approximately €40 billion are to flow into semiconductor fabrication plants, of which ~€25 billion for a sovereign 2-nm-or-below logic fab with 25,000 wafer starts per month by 2030–2033. The new focus is additionally on demand stimulation rather than pure subsidization – a strategic shift from the largely failed first Chips Act.
Intel's stock has gained over 200% in 2026, driven by the Google TPU order, Nvidia tests on 18A, Cadence collaboration for the 14A process, and the expanded Google Cloud partnership. In parallel, Samsung chip chief Jun Young-hyun met Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Seoul to secure foundry contracts and HBM4 supplies – competition for TSMC alternatives is intensifying.
The U.S. BIS has clarified that export license restrictions on AI chips also apply to Chinese companies outside China – a targeted blow against circumvention strategies through third-country subsidiaries. China's MOFCOM reacted sharply, calling the measure destabilizing to global supply chains; Nvidia faces further market losses in an already fragmented market.
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei warned again that chip supply will not meet AI-driven demand for years – with confirmed revenue growth of over 30% for 2026. Reddit community disputes critically: The demand is largely projected, not real, and OpenAI's and Anthropic's forthcoming IPOs will reveal actual profitability for the first time.
The semiconductor industry is experiencing a tectonic shift in power: Intel returns as a credible foundry alternative, supported by multi-billion-dollar orders from Google and Nvidia tests on 18A – challenging TSMC's years-long monopoly in the leading-edge segment for the first time structurally. Simultaneously, the geopolitical front between the USA and China is tightening: Washington has closed the foreign subsidiary loophole for Nvidia AI chips, while Beijing responds with countermeasures and accelerated indigenous development. The EU is trying to keep pace with Chips Act 2.0 and ~€40 billion, but struggles against structural credibility issues following the largely failed first attempt. The greatest systemic risk remains the supply-demand gap in AI chips: should projected demand prove inflated – as Reddit comments and forthcoming IPO audits from OpenAI/Anthropic suggest – a painful capacity overhang threatens with consequences for the entire investment wave.
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