Trump Announces Apple and Intel Reach US Domestic Chip Partnership, Intel Surges Over 9% Pre-Market

TradingKey - US President Donald Trump posted a major announcement on his personal social media platform, Truth Social, on Thursday, declaring that Apple ( AAPL) has officially reached a partnership agreement with Intel ( INTC ), and both parties will jointly conduct chip design and manufacturing operations within the United States.

Following the announcement, Intel's stock price surged more than 9% in pre-market trading.

Source: TradingView

Trump stated that the neglect of domestic manufacturing by previous US administrations had led to a massive outflow of the semiconductor industry, causing the US to gradually lose its dominant position in the global chip manufacturing sector. He emphasized that since taking office, the current administration has made rebuilding the US semiconductor supply chain one of its core strategic goals.

In fact, the partnership between Apple and Intel did not happen overnight. As early as May this year, media reports suggested that after more than a year of negotiations, the two sides had reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple. Trump's public statement now effectively puts an official seal of approval on this partnership.

For a long time, Apple has been highly dependent on TSMC in the field of chip manufacturing. However, with the explosive growth of the artificial intelligence industry, TSMC's advanced process capacity is being heavily occupied by AI chip giants like Nvidia and AMD, making capacity constraints increasingly prominent.

Partnering with Intel will not only help Apple diversify its manufacturing bases and reduce its reliance on a single supplier, but also secure stable chip capacity within the US, further strengthening its supply chain security.

For Intel, securing orders from Apple, the world's largest consumer electronics company, is undoubtedly a major milestone on its path to transformation. Over the past few years, Intel has gone through a prolonged downturn, gradually falling behind TSMC in advanced process technology and continuously losing its market dominance.

Recently, however, Intel's stock has staged a strong rebound, surging 464% over the past 12 months, with its market value breaking the $600 billion mark. This partnership with Apple will provide Intel's foundry business with an endorsement from a top-tier customer, helping it rebuild market confidence in its competition with TSMC.

Earlier this week, Intel had just announced that its next-generation 18A manufacturing process has entered the preliminary mass production phase. This process is seen as a key asset for Intel to catch up with industry-leading standards, and the addition of Apple's orders will undoubtedly provide powerful momentum for the commercial application of this technology.

The Trump administration has played a significant role in Intel's revival. The US government previously provided support to the company by acquiring a 10% stake in Intel, in exchange for the expansion of its domestic chip R&D and manufacturing capabilities.

At the time of the government's investment, Intel's market value was approximately $100 billion, whereas the company's market value has now exceeded $600 billion, adding over $500 billion in market value within nine months. Based on the figures released by Trump, the value of the US government's stake has exceeded $60 billion, representing a substantial appreciation from the initial investment.