INTC | Why Intel Matters for America’s AI Ambitions ?

Intel’s Fight for Relevance in the AI Era

Intel’s place in the global chip industry has never felt more critical or more precarious. Once the undisputed leader in logic manufacturing, the company spent the past decade slipping behind TSMC and Samsung after delaying its move to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology. That misstep created yield problems, cost overruns, and repeated product delays just as rivals doubled down on EUV at smaller nodes. The result ? a loss of customer confidence, declining profitability, and a widening gap at the leading edge.

How We Got Here!

In the mid to late 2010s, Intel tried to stretch deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography at 10nm through complex multi-patterning. Instead of extending its lead, the company ran into yield headaches and missed timelines. TSMC and Samsung surged ahead with EUV at 7nm and 5nm, securing the trust of the world’s most important fabless designers.

Intel has since pivoted its 18A node is EUV based, and it’s among the earliest backers of High-NA EUV. But rebuilding scale and credibility takes time. Meanwhile, the financial picture has darkened, operating profit peaked at $24 billion in 2020 and has turned negative in recent years, just as capital spending demands have surged.

The Strategic Stakes

AI puts this all into sharper focus. Training efficiency and memory bandwidth rely on cutting-edge chips and packaging. Right now, TSMC dominates this market, with Samsung a distant second. Concentrating so much production capacity on one island, Taiwan has created a national security and supply chain dilemma for the United States.

Intel is the only U.S.headquartered company still attempting to produce leading-edge logic and advanced packaging at scale. That makes it not just a private business but, in Washington’s eyes, strategic infrastructure. The CHIPS Act and government equity investment underscore this point: policymakers want Intel to succeed, even if the turnaround takes years.

New Backing, New Pressure

Two recent developments reset the board. First, the U.S. government converted part of its CHIPS Act funding into equity, taking a 10% stake worth nearly $9 billion. Then NVIDIA announced a $5 billion investment and multi-year partnership. Together, these moves give Intel more breathing room and a marquee customer, but they don’t erase execution challenges. The company still has to prove it can deliver competitive nodes on schedule—something it hasn’t consistently done for over a decade.

Intel is now in the uncomfortable position of being both a struggling turnaround and a linchpin of U.S. industrial policy. Its past delays created the AI sovereignty crisis that Washington is desperate to fix. The stakes are enormous, if Intel can reestablish itself as a viable second source to TSMC, the U.S. gains security and leverage in the AI race. If not, America’s most advanced chips will remain tied to a single overseas supplier.

For now Intel’s story is less about near-term earnings and more about whether policy support, strategic partners, and new technology bets can close the gap before it’s too late.