AMD’s CEO Doesn’t Give a Certain Response on a Collaboration with Intel, But There Are Little Fronts to Partner Up On

Following last week’s reports suggesting that AMD might explore a potential collaboration or investment with Intel, AMD’s CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, was asked directly about the matter in a recent interview with Bloomberg. Her response, while cautious and noncommittal, offered some insights into AMD’s current priorities and its approach to the semiconductor supply chain.

When questioned about whether AMD could work with Intel for chip manufacturing, Su replied with what can only be described as a carefully measured answer:

“Well, um, as you know, the supply chain is something that we work on, um, you know, very, uh, meticulously. I think we have a very strong supply chain. Uh, we’re certainly deeply partnered with, you know, TSMC across the supply chain.

Uh, you know, just to that earlier question, uh, we’re absolutely prioritizing building in the United States because that I think that’s super important. This is the, um, the US AI stack. We want to have as much of it in the US as possible.”

This response indicates that AMD remains firmly committed to its TSMC partnership, which continues to serve as the backbone of its CPU, GPU, and APU manufacturing processes. At the same time, the company’s emphasis on U.S.-based production aligns with the growing government and industry push to strengthen domestic semiconductor capabilities.

While the notion of an AMD-Intel partnership captured attention due to its rarity, such collaboration would be highly complex. Both companies are direct competitors across virtually every major computing sector, including desktop CPUs, data centers, and AI accelerators.

The only plausible scenario where AMD might collaborate with Intel could revolve around manufacturing or foundry cooperation, particularly if AMD were to consider Intel’s 18A node under its Intel Foundry Services (IFS) initiative. This would mark a dual-sourcing strategy, allowing AMD to diversify production beyond TSMC to mitigate supply risks. However, as of now, this remains purely speculative.

Industry observers point out that the renewed interest in Intel partnerships by other major players, such as NVIDIA, SoftBank, and even the Trump administration, appears to be driven by a mix of political and strategic motivations. With the U.S. government investing heavily in Intel’s domestic chip infrastructure, forming alliances or investments could be seen as a move to align with Washington’s vision for a robust national semiconductor ecosystem.

Still, as AMD and Intel compete head-to-head in AI, consumer computing, and server markets, a meaningful collaboration seems improbable in the near term. For now, AMD’s focus remains clear: strengthening its U.S. presence, maintaining its deep partnership with TSMC, and continuing to expand its AI and data center product lines.

What do you think? Should AMD consider Intel’s foundry services as a secondary source, or would that compromise its long-term competitive edge?