Lip-Bu Tan

Tan says Intel will now customize chips for customer needs and is heavily doubling down on this fast-growing area.

Intel is so proud they never want to modify for customer needs. I'm modifying it for customer needs, and so that, I think, to me, is a fast-growing area, and I'm double, triple down on it.

Tan says multiple customers are keen for Intel Foundry to scale their business, with 14A PDK 1.0 slated for early 2027 volume production.

We have multiple customers [who] really want us to really scale their business,

Tan stresses that foundry work is built on trust and carries heavy responsibility for customers' success.

The moment we take on the foundry, take on the wafer is a lot of responsibility to make them successful,

Lip-Bu Tan said Intel's restructuring is about 80% done but cautioned that rebuilding the foundry will take years, citing the decade or two TSMC needed.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan told Nikkei earlier this month that the restructuring was "80% done," but he has cautioned that rebuilding the foundry will take years and has pointed to the ten to twenty years TSMC needed to get where it is.

Lip-Bu Tan says China is not far behind in chip manufacturing despite US sanctions blocking its access to EUV machines.

China Is “Not That Far Behind” In Chip Manufacturing

Lip-Bu Tan says the US government's equity stake in Intel gives Washington no policy role or influence over the company's governance, and Intel remains independent.

They don't have any policy. They don't have any influence on the governance of the company,

Lip-Bu Tan says Intel's restructuring is about 80% complete, though rebuilding a competitive foundry business will still take years.

Intel is 80% done

Tan said Intel's sweeping restructuring is about 80% complete, with most senior leadership replaced since he became CEO.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan says the company’s sweeping restructuring is about 80 % complete.

Tan said rebuilding Intel's foundry business is a long-term effort, comparing it to TSMC's 10-20 year rise, and that government support can help fund the investment.

Developing new manufacturing technologies and constructing factories require billions of dollars in investment over many years, he said. He also said government support could help Intel make the long-term investments needed to develop new technologies and build factories.

Tan said Chinese chip companies are already not that far behind US counterparts.

Asked whether China could catch up with the United States in semiconductor technology within five to ten years, Tan said Chinese companies were “not that far behind” already.

Tan said the US government, despite its 9.9% stake, has no influence on Intel's governance and Intel remains independent.

They don't have any influence on the governance of the company,

Lip-Bu Tan says the main challenge ahead is capital and the cost of capital.

If there’s any challenge in the front, it’s capital and the cost of capital,

At a DBS panel, Tan called Chinese AI models such as DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM 'good enough' given their fast adoption.

he called Chinese AI models including DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM 'good enough,' citing fast adoption.