Intel and Arm may seem like rival companies, but today the two chip businesses announced a new collaboration. Intel"s press release stated that its Foundry Services division will help Arm-based chip designers to build their processors using the Intel 18A process at its factories:
The press release stated:
Arm customers designing their next-generation mobile SoCs will benefit from leading-edge Intel 18A process technology, which delivers new breakthrough transistor technologies for improved power and performance, and from IFS’s robust manufacturing footprint that includes U.S.- and EU-based capacity.
Intel added that the first chips with this new partnership will concentrate on mobile SoC designs, which means that the next smartphone you make buy could have an Arm-based design built in an Intel foundry. The agreement could eventually expand to include Intel making Arm-based chips for automotive products, data centers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and more.
Right now, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), makes the majority of chips used in smartphones. If Intel succeeds in taking some of TSMC"s market share away, that could be a huge new source of revenue for the company. It could also allow for some easing in supply chains if those chips could be made in the US and Europe.