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Intel's Death and Potential Revival

Intel died when mobile cost it its software differentiation; if the U.S. wants a domestic foundry, then it ought to leverage the need for AI chips to make an independent Intel foundry viable.

For the first seven years of the iPhone both companies refused to accept their failure, and tried desperately to leverage what they viewed as their unassailable advantages: Microsoft declined to put its productivity applications on iOS or Android, trying to get customers to adopt Windows Mobile, while Intel tried to bring its manufacturing prowess to bear to build processors that were sufficiently efficient while still being x86 compatible. By the time Gelsinger came on board, though, it was already too late: Intel’s process was behind, its product market share was threatened on all of the fronts noted above, and high-performance ARM processors had been built by TSMC for years (which meant a big advantage in terms of pre-existing IP, design software, etc.). To that end, the U.S. government could fund an independent Intel foundry — spin out the product group along with the clueless board to Broadcom or Qualcomm or private equity — and provide price support for model builders to design and buy their chips there.

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