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Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

reuters.com

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Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#31

Post by andrehacker »

Hm, bad news for Oregon. From this article: https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2024/12/intel-sput...

Oregon exports more than $30 billion worth of electronics annually, most of which are semiconductors manufactured in Intel’s Hillsboro factories.

----------

The company employs more people than any other business in the state. ----------

The state’s chip industry pays an average yearly wage of more than $150,000, according to government data, well over double the state average. Hefty pay from Intel is an especially big deal in Oregon, which relies on personal income taxes for the bulk of state revenue.

---------- ...Intel might consider selling its business off in pieces.

That could be calamitous in Oregon, turning Intel’s huge local campuses into satellite operations of other companies that don’t need the full range of corporate and technological functions that have been the foundation of Intel’s Hillsboro sites for decades.

“The people who work at Intel have to be really panicked,” Hutcheson said.

Intel’s research factories in Hillsboro support high-volume production sites in Arizona, Ireland, Israel and -- soon -- in Ohio. If that manufacturing network were someday to break up, it’s not clear what role would be left for the company’s top engineers and scientists in Oregon.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#32

Post by newsclues »

thedougd wrote: post #15

What a nightmare. Imagine Broadcom merging with IBM. They'd have the legacy IT market cornered whether virtualized x86 or mainframe, customers be damned. Perhaps they already do. Mainframe users often rely on CA Tech's software, which Broadcom bought years ago.

Since reading a Gibson novel that mentioned the dystopian mega tech conglomerate (DatAmerica maybe?), I've always enjoyed the mental exercise of M&A to create a monster corporation.

Intel + Broadcom + IBM + HP + Oracle + Apple + Google

They'd from Chips to Cloud.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#34

Post by AJ007 »

amarcheschi wrote: post #29
crest wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoever hired Pat Gelsinger should be fired … from a cannon.

Intel started having issues before pat. Now, I sold my amd shares a few years ago and stopped following the semi sector, but as long as I have memory Intel was starting to show cracks after a few ryzen iteration(s). I mean, they were still faring well, but it was clear - at least to me - they were stuck with less competitive products

They missed two epochal changes in the semiconductor industry - mobile and AI/GPU. They don't have a contract foundry business that could compete with TSMC. They appear to be failing with the thing the originally should have been capable of, their next gen chips.

When they missed out on mobile it appeared to be a big blunder, especially when one considers the long term impact of electricity usage in datacenters. When Apple released the M1 chips that could run x86 faster than native, it was clear what was going to happen to Intel. Intel is now done -- dead, finished. This is a legacy business where the owners can try to get more money than they paid for it, but if they have to put up new capital (that isn't free government money), they will not be getting their money back.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#35

Post by supertrope »

rwmj wrote: post #10

Broadcom getting involved with Intel will be excellent business ... for all of Intel's competitors.

They’d hike prices 10x for the whales: hyperscalers and PC manufacturers and ignore the needs of anyone who does not buy CPUs by the tray.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#36

Post by protimewaster »

lenerdenator wrote: post #19

Right now, I'm imagining AMD as Danny DeVito's character, Frank Reynolds, in that episode of Always Sunny where the gang wrestles for the troops. He's the Trashman, which is an awful wrestling persona, but at the end of the match, everyone else is seriously injured on the floor of the ring. With a bewildered look on his face, he slowly raised his arms, and the crowd went wild. Sometimes you just gotta stick to the co…

> Sometimes you just gotta stick to the core competencies and stick to them well.

Part of me thinks this is what Radio Shack could've made work. They almost made it to the point in time where hobbyist electronics / maker culture was popular again, but by that time they were just the place people used to buy cell phones from.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#37

Post by The_Colonel »

m4rtink wrote: post #8

Broadcom getting involved with VMware did wonders for all VMware customers - I'm sure all current users of Intel products and services are also delighted in a similar manner! ;-)

I think Intel is a different kind of acquisition for Broadcom than VMWare.

VMWare had/has a strong moat which can be exploited by jacking up prices. Intel doesn't have that.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#38

Post by 01100011 »

I'm not seeing what Broadcom brings to the table here. They don't have chip mfg experience. Sure, they're a customer, but so what?

TSMC is not going to be motivated to build up a competitor who weakens the economic wall around Taiwan.

What I could see happening based on recent events is that Trump tells Taiwan they have a couple years of US security left. TSMC is then forced to consider putting more effort into mfg in the US(and other countries). What that would mean for the rest of the elec mfg supply chain is unknown. Taiwan is quite critical beyond just chip mfg.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#39

Post by drewg123 »

I wonder how much this is costing Intel in terms of enterprise sales? I'm guessing that headlines like this will accelerate the switch to AMD and ARM. Who wants to design servers around chips from a company that is not likely to exist in its present form? That opens up all kinds of supply chain and support concerns.

Re: Broadcom, TSMC eye possible Intel deals to split storied chipmaker

#40

Post by nsteel »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #26
nsteel wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fab-wise, presumably they'll just gobble up the sites and equipment. Maybe some of the next-gen tech is interesting. But then we'll be left with less competition in the fab industry. This is very unlikely to be good news for anyone other than TSMC shareholders.

Historically, Broadcom has done even better than TSMC for its shareholders. 5 year annual return is 56% for Broadcom and 33% for TSMC 10 year annual return is 40% to 27% 15 year annual return is 41% to 26% https://dqydj.com/stock-return-calculator/

That might be true, no idea, but I was actually making a point about the rapidly diminishingly fab competion and what that's going to mean for customers (and consumers).
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