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You're using two different bits of language, "open up their fabs" and "spin out their fabs". "Open up" implies Intel maintaining ownership but contracting out
by SkyMarshal 6y ago
You're using two different bits of language, "open up their fabs" and "spin out their fabs". "Open up" implies Intel maintaining ownership but contracting out fab capacity to other chip makers like TSMC. "Spin out" implies divesting their fabs like AMD did with Global Foundries. Might help to clarify which one you mean.
- oddity 6y agoThanks for pointing that out. I think closing the door on ICF and doubling down on vertical integration is a mistake on Intel's part (but likely forced because of their production issues), but the extent to which Intel should open up is a question likely only Intel employees knee deep in the R&D can answer since it comes down to how integrated manufacturing is with the rest of the company. There's a continuum from ICF to Samsung-style conglomerate to GloFo, with different kinds of customers at each point. Any point on that spectrum is a less risky place to be than Intel relying on Intel alone. All told, I'd rather be Intel today than, say, SMIC today, and I'd much rather be the Intel of today than the AMD of 8-12 years ago. Intel is down, but in no way out, and I find most of the commentary hyperbolic. A full GloFo-style spin out might be inevitable, but I think Intel is sufficiently positioned to take it more slowly than AMD did.