Intel will manufacture Qualcomm’s future processors

With its domination of the non-Apple mobile industry and growing influence in the PC arena, we’ve long thought of Qualcomm as one of Intel’s greatest competitors. But, as it turns out, the two firms are forming a huge new collaboration that will last for years to come: Intel will produce future Qualcomm processors.

Intel unveiled its 2025 roadmap, renaming its process nodes and demonstrating what each iteration will look like. Qualcomm plans to employ one of them, the Intel 20A. To reclaim its throne, Intel established Intel Foundry Services, a new manufacturing arm that would build Intel’s preferred x86 architecture as well as ARM designs utilized by firms like Apple.

Qualcomm and Amazon, the branch’s first two customers, are big fish, though no early promises have been made, and Qualcomm is notorious for employing numerous foundries to meet its demands.

Given Qualcomm and Intel’s long-standing rivalry, the decision may appear odd. Indeed, Qualcomm looks to be winning or gaining momentum in a number of sectors. Chip manufacturer tried and failed to make mobile chips, and as a result, it had to abandon its efforts to make 5G modems for smartphones.

The company has stated that it will release five new technologies during the next four years. A novel transistor design is one of the initiatives, as is the use of ASML’s extreme ultraviolet lithography manufacturing equipment provided everything goes well. In addition, the firm will move away from confusing chip names in favour of labels such as “Intel 7,” a kind of branding presently employed by a competitor.