Intel Foundry has formalized next-generation process cooperation with Tesla, once considered a core customer of Samsung Electronics, threatening the No. 2 spot in the global foundry (contract chip manufacturing) market. Industry watchers say Intel, by securing a connection with super key partner Elon Musk, has proved its technical credibility while creating a major inflection point that could spur additional defections by global big tech companies.
Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive, said on the 22nd (local time) during an earnings conference call that he plans to adopt Intel's cutting-edge 14A (1.4-nanometer-class) process for the "TeraFab" project, an AI Semiconductor production hub. Musk said, "Intel is a key partner in TeraFab's expansion, and we will primarily use the 14A process in line with the mass production timeline."
The market sees this as Tesla moving in earnest to a "multi-vendor" strategy to diversify suppliers and reduce reliance on any one company. The move is interpreted as a bid to induce competition among suppliers to boost pricing leverage while keeping chip supply stable against geopolitical risks or operating variables at specific plants. With the possibility that part of the next-generation AI chip volume—once likely to be Samsung Electronics' exclusive order—could be shifted to Intel's U.S. production facilities, Samsung's foundry business is on high alert.
The rebound of Intel Foundry Services (IFS) is also visible in the numbers. In the first quarter of 2026, Intel's foundry institutional sector revenue came in at $5.421 billion (about 7.45 trillion won), up 16.2% from a year earlier. The company in particular narrowed its operating loss from the previous quarter, drawing assessments that it has entered a path toward practical normalization. Intel's management said the 1.8-nanometer (18A) Production yield is meeting internal targets and, on that basis, it is strengthening cooperation with key customers including Apple, Nvidia and AMD for 14A adoption. Intel's stock jumped nearly 20% in after-hours transaction following Musk's show of support, a credit entry to market expectations.
The current global foundry market is highly challenging for Samsung Electronics. No. 1 Taiwan-based TSMC has recently pushed its share close to 70%, widening the gap with Samsung by more than 60 percentage points. Samsung Electronics holds more than three years of manufacturing lead in the GAA (gate-all-around) process, a next-generation technology introduced from 3 nanometers, but a delayed start for its Taylor, Texas fab to the second half of this year created a painful supply gap. Backed by the U.S. government's bold subsidies and the "Made in USA" premium, Intel has seized the moment to jump into the big tech order race.
The fundamental reasons Samsung has allowed Intel to close in are "geopolitical advantage" and "supply chain stability." Intel moved quickly to meet big tech companies' preference for domestic U.S. production, while Samsung Electronics chose a strategic delay at the Taylor fab to improve technical completeness—an opening Intel exploited. Samsung Electronics has adjusted the 1.4-nanometer mass production timeline to 2029 to strengthen fundamentals and prepare for a long game, but with Intel pushing a speed battle, the fight for control is set to intensify.
A semiconductor industry official said, "Samsung has a powerful hand in its unrivaled GAA technology and a 'one-stop solution' that bundles memory, foundry and packaging," adding, "But because supply chain reliability to deliver volumes on the promised schedule is as critical as technology in the foundry business, the top priority is to allay market concerns through early stabilization of the Taylor fab and tangible orders from major customers."