Intel CEO puts restructuring progress at about 80 %
Lip-Bu Tan gave no timetable for completing the overhaul and said rebuilding the chipmaker’s foundry operation would require years of investment.
Intel’s restructuring is about 80 % finished, Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said in a Nikkei interview. Most of the company’s senior leadership has changed since he took charge in March 2025, but he provided neither a completion deadline nor details of the outstanding measures.
The chipmaker is working to narrow its manufacturing disadvantage against Taiwan’s TSMC and strengthen its ability to compete in AI chips. Tan described the recovery of Intel’s contract manufacturing operation as a lengthy undertaking, with technology development and factory construction demanding billions of dollars over many years. He noted that TSMC needed 10 to 20 years to reach its leading position among semiconductor foundries.
Tan said government support could help fund that work. Previously allocated federal funding was converted by the US government into a US$8.9 billion Intel investment, giving it a 9.9 % holding but no board representation. A subsequent share offering diluted the stake to about 8.2 %. According to Tan, the administration does not use its ownership to steer strategy, and Intel makes its decisions independently.
New leadership hires include Seok-Hee Lee, who previously led SK hynix. Nvidia purchased Intel shares worth US$5 billion, and SoftBank bought US$2 billion worth. The stock has climbed roughly fourfold during Tan’s leadership.
On competition from China, Tan said Chinese semiconductor companies were already close behind their US counterparts. He said customer needs mattered most, while geopolitical restrictions also had to be considered.
