The big picture: Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger recently met with several high-ranking Samsung executives to discuss a potential collaboration. The talks come amid the ongoing global semiconductor shortage and at a time when competition with rivals like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, is heating up.
According to a report from The Korea Herald, Gelsinger flew to Korea after attending the 2022 World Economic Forum in Switzerland to meet with Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, co-CEO Kyung Kye-hyun, mobile division leader Roh Tae-moon and others.
Reports claim the two sides discussed how to better cooperate and "exchanged opinions on next-generation memory chips, fabless system chips [and] foundry chips as well as those for PCs and mobile devices."
Intel has been ramping up chip manufacturing investments in recent memory. In January, the company committed $20 billion to build a new facility in Ohio and shelled out another $5.4 billion the following month to purchase Israeli specialty chipmaker Tower Semiconductor.
It would seem that Intel is playing on both sides of the fence. Back in November, it was rumored that Intel had asked TSMC to use its 3nm chip tech for its upcoming Meteor Lake processors. Last month, Taiwanese media said Gelsinger met with top TSMC executives to discuss securing additional sub-7nm production capacity.
Samsung, meanwhile, said last month that it expects commercial production of 3nm chips to start soon. Another rumor from February suggested Samsung was experiencing yield issues on advanced nodes, and that at least one customer had already been lost over the matter.
Image credit: Laura Ockel