Your next smartphone could feature an Arm chip, made by… Intel – Intel

Once the biggest name in processors, Intel has long seen its technological manufacturing advantage face significant competition from rivals like TSMC, and is now the leading global maker of chips for clients like Apple and other tech giants.

Intel’s recovery strategy relies in part on opening its factories to other chip makers, especially smartphone makers, while it said companies such as Qualcomm plan to use its factories to make chips in the future. The announcement is part of the IDM 2.0 strategy, in which Intel is investing heavily in manufacturing capacity around the world, including expansions in the United States and the European Union. Such a move would balance the supply chain and mitigate availability issues currently caused by overwhelming demand from chipmakers.

“There is a growing demand for computing power driven by the digitization of everything, but until now… customers have had limited options to design around the most advanced mobile technology,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel.

For its part, Arm, which is owned by Japanese investment firm SoftBank and plans to go public later this year, is a key supplier of intellectual property to many chip companies, particularly in smartphones. Arm has partnered with major chip manufacturers to ensure its designs will work well in their manufacturing processes.

The partnership announced last week aims to put Intel on a par with South Korea’s TSMC and Samsung, the two companies that currently make the largest number of mobile chips in the world.