A look at Intel's problems, starting with 2016's 10nm node: 7/11 board members have no chip experience, most CEO options are worse than Pat Gelsinger, and more
Intel's board is incompetent and its horrible decisions over the decades are going to push it towards death.
SemiAnalysis
Context & Ripple Effects
Intel’s current governance debate sits atop a longer execution record: related coverage traced the company’s 2020 setback to a delayed 7nm architecture and executive departures, while Gelsinger later acknowledged serious leadership, people and methodology problems.
The turnaround strategy has already made board choices consequential. Coverage of Intel’s effort to become a foundry, including a partnership with UMC, was followed by reporting on options to scale back factories, sell assets or split operations.
First-order effects
The analysis increases pressure on Intel’s board to justify its semiconductor expertise and its stewardship of the 10nm-era failures.
It narrows the apparent room for a leadership reset: if plausible successors are weaker than Gelsinger, replacing him does not by itself resolve Intel’s execution problem.
Second-order effects
Uncertainty around board oversight and CEO continuity can further complicate Intel’s effort to persuade chip developers to use its foundry strategy, which depends on confidence in sustained execution.
If governance remains disconnected from chip-manufacturing execution, Intel’s structural challenge becomes not only process technology but the ability to retain the specialist leadership needed to run an integrated design-and-manufacturing company.
The case reinforces that semiconductor turnarounds are constrained by long development cycles: governance changes can be immediate, but restoring execution credibility takes longer and remains uncertain.
The trend: Intel’s situation is part of a broader shift in which semiconductor competitiveness increasingly depends on governance depth and operational talent as much as product road maps.
Intel on the Brink of Death Board Short Circuits, Cultural Rot, Product Focus Is Flawed x86 Has No Moat Foundry Must Survive Nvidia's PC CPU Push - 3 chip tegra strategy Sierra Forest, Granite Rapid, Clearwater Forest, Diamond Rapids, Rogue River Forest https://semianalysis.com/.…
BTW i looked at like 4 semiconductor boards and Intel's was literally the stupidest and crappiest board in the space. The total return of the companies associated w/ the Intel board is super bad recently too. PYPL, ADSK, U (stretch), BA, etc
In 2005, Intel's then-CEO wanted to buy Nvidia for $20 billion but was blocked by Intel's board who said it was too expensive. Today Nvidia is worth $3.49 trillion. [image]
Congratulations to Eric Meurice and Steve Sanghi on joining Intel's board of directors. With decades of technical expertise, executive leadership, and strategic discipline, they are well-positioned to contribute to the company's success. Excited to see the impact they'll have on
Every Thursday I do a 24 hour prayer and fasting day . This week I'd invite you to join me in praying and fasting for the 100K Intel employees as they navigate this difficult period. Intel and its team is of seminal importance to the future of the industry and US.
This is funny as hell These are all the cross-company board directors, i.e. the boards they all sit on. Since the market bottom *not a single one* has outperformed the SPY. I know its noisy but the sample size is hilarious to me. [image]
I absolutely devoured this post and agree with it. I would also add that Intel should have gone into the AI stack more than a decade ago, but failed to do so repeatedly
https://www.fabricatedknowledge.com/ ... Wrote something about Intel - i really cannot believe how incompetent the board is. The Intel we knew is like actually dead w/ the firing of Pat. Let's hope the parts can survive
How does it work? The CEO of Intel would just not work on Thursdays? The board gave $179M salary in 2021 for Pat and he would just not work on Thursdays? Hahahaha $INTC