4. Intel is cash poor and can’t afford to invest in the capacity needed in the future to replace TSMC or even a reasonable fraction of TSMC capacity. They probably need a cash infusion of $40B or so to be competitive. Realistically that investment is 100% of the Chip Act Capital grants so unlikely the USG is the savior.
5. The only place the cash can come from is the customers. They are all cash rich and if 8 of them were willing to invest $5B each then Intel would have a chance.
8. Where does the money come from? The customers invest for a piece of Intel and guaranteed supply. Why should they invest? Domestic supply, second source, national security, leverage in negotiating with TSMC, etc. AND IF THE USG GETS ITS ACT TOGETHER, they catalyze the action with a 50% (or whatever number Trump picks) tariff on state of the art semi imports. If we can support domestic steel and aluminum, surely we can support domestic semiconductors.
10. POTUS and DoC can set the stage, the customers can make the necessary investments, the Intel Board can finally do something positive for the company, and we stop writing opinion pieces on the topic.
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