Intel Corporation CEO Lip-Bu Tan is scheduled to travel to Taiwan this week for a string of meetings that include discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) executives, setting the stage for renewed attention on the relationship between the two firms as COMPUTEX approaches, according to people familiar with the plans. Tan is also slated to present Intel’s COMPUTEX keynote on June 2 at 1:30 p.m. local time.
Intel confirmed Tan’s presence in Taiwan but declined to disclose the specifics of his itinerary or the individual meetings. "We don’t comment on Lip-Bu’s schedule or specific meetings," an Intel spokesperson said. The company added that senior leadership regularly meets with customers, partners, and other industry leaders as part of routine business activities, and reiterated that Tan will deliver the COMPUTEX keynote where he will outline Intel’s strategy and priorities going forward.
Reports that Tan will meet with TSMC management were first published by Digitimes, and the timing of the trip highlights a critical moment for Intel’s foundry ambitions. The two companies have a complex partnership-and-rivalry dynamic, and talks about deeper cooperation have surfaced before. In 2025, media reports suggested Intel and TSMC had explored a possible chipmaking joint venture under which TSMC would take approximately a 20% stake in Intel Foundry.
That exploratory dialogue preceded a separate development that now factors into any future partnership calculus: the U.S. government’s decision to acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel as part of a CHIPS Act arrangement. That stake, which President Trump has publicly highlighted as emblematic of his America First industrial policy, is now valued at more than $60 billion and introduces a sovereign investor into potential strategic discussions.
The size disparity between Intel and TSMC remains pronounced. Intel’s market capitalization has risen to about $614 billion, a roughly sixfold increase over the past 12 months attributed in the market to foundry optimism and strong demand for AI CPUs. TSMC’s market capitalization stands near $1.86 trillion. In terms of foundry revenue, TSMC generated $35.9 billion in the first quarter of 2026 versus $5.4 billion for Intel Foundry in the same period. Of Intel Foundry’s Q1 2026 revenue, only about $174 million - roughly 3% - came from external customers.
Tan has consistently positioned Intel’s foundry efforts in national-security terms. On May 20, speaking to CNBC, he said: "Intel’s foundry business is a strategic national asset because more than 90% of advanced processors are made outside the U.S." He has also described Intel’s 18A process node as "the most innovative process node in Intel’s history," while acknowledging that achieving customer-grade scaling and consistency for that node remains the principal technical hurdle.
Not all analysts agree that a closer tie to TSMC would be the right move for Intel. Citi analysts have previously characterized a proposed joint venture as "the wrong move," signaling a divergence of views on whether such a partnership would hasten Intel’s foundry progress or compromise its independence.
Tan’s visit also comes amid a wider wave of visits by U.S. chip executives to Taipei. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang traveled to Taiwan on May 23 for meetings with TSMC concerning Vera Rubin AI chip capacity, and AMD CEO Lisa Su is expected to attend COMPUTEX, which opens on June 1. These visits underscore the event’s importance as a focal point for industry leaders to discuss capacity, partnership and product roadmaps ahead of the mid-year trade show.
Context and implications
The planned meetings and Tan’s keynote will be watched closely by investors and customers, given the strategic questions surrounding Intel’s foundry ambitions, the company’s recent market-value rally, and the distinctive role a U.S. government equity stake now plays in any future alliance discussions.