Qualcomm dismisses Intel foundry for now; sticks with TSMC and Samsung

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Intel’s manufacturing “is not an option today,” adding that they would only consider Intel if its production improved. For now, Qualcomm will reportedly continue to use TSMC and Samsung for chip production. This is troubling news for Intel Foundry, which relies on external customers to remain profitable.

Current Snapdragon X laptop chips are built on TSMC’s N4 process. These Arm-based laptops have demonstrated exceptional efficiency and performance, often surpassing comparable Intel systems. That gives Qualcomm no reason to switch to Intel’s node until its performance is clearly competitive.

Intel’s plan going forward hinges on new nodes such as 18A (and the tentative 14A), but there are questions about their yields, not to mention doubts about whether 14A will ever proceed given the lack of demand for 18A. Even Intel’s own upcoming Nova Lake chips will reportedly use TSMC’s N2 node, mixing some production with 18A. That gives the impression that even Intel isn’t entirely confident in its own production.

Qualcomm recently announced a self-driving suite for BMW’s new IX3: the Snapdragon Ride Pilot. Amon said it delivers “data-center-class” compute with low power draw, with the chip designed to prioritize battery power. The system scales from driver assistance to handling most driving tasks. Qualcomm is targeting about $22 billion in automotive and IoT revenue by 2029.

It remains to be seen whether Intel can improve 18A node performance and capture enough external demand to move forward with 14A. Amon left the door open if Intel shows improvement in the future.