A former Intel CEO and chair says the company shouldn't be broken up because its foundry unit now has the tech and manufacturing know-how to compete with TSMC
He believes Intel has now caught up with TSMC from a technology perspective and a break up will be distracting. … X: Daniel Newman / @danielnewmanuv : A good counterpoint on subsets of the Intel Board calling for a breakup of Intel from former Intel Chair and CEO Craig Barrett. (Link 👇🏻) He makes a lot of good points about increasing technology parity within the foundry and improvements in products and suggest that a break up [image] Ben Bajarin / @benbajarin : It seems pretty clear, at this point, the vast market consensus sentiment is to not break up @Intel. The board clearly does not know what is best for the company or investors. Great read by Ex Intel CEO Craig Barrett aka the Silicon Cowboy. https://fortune.com/... @underfox3 : Craig Barrett's words make clear what I said previously: Before thinking about hiring a new CEO, what Intel needs most now is the complete physical removal of all members of its board of directors, with a special emphasis on its current chairman. https://fortune.com/... Patrick Moorhead / @patrickmoorhead : Ex $INTC CEO and chair Craig Barrett op-ed: “The board members are well meaning but off target. They are two academics and two former government bureaucrats, just the type of folks you want dictating strategy in the ruggedly competitive semiconductor industry.” Oof. Link 👇🏻 [image] LinkedIn: Jackie Sturm : Amen, Dr Barrett. Under your leadership Intel was “One Generation Ahead” and the undisputed semiconductor darling. That focus on technology dominance was what made Intel great. … Michał Dżoga : February marked 15 years for me at Intel. It constitutes more than a quarter of the company's amazing history. … Forums: r/intel : Intel is back—stop talking about breaking it up: Craig Barrett Msmash / Slashdot : Former Intel CEO Barrett Calls for Board Dismissal and Gelsinger's Return
Context & Ripple Effects
Intel’s leadership transition had reopened discussion of separating its manufacturing and product divisions; fresh deal options after Pat Gelsinger’s retirement put a split alongside other strategic choices. Barrett’s intervention argues that preserving an integrated company is now central to the attempted foundry turnaround.
That case confronts a stark recent operating gap: Intel Foundry’s 2024 loss against TSMC’s profitability underscores why board-level pressure for structural change persists even as Barrett cites improving technical and manufacturing capability.
First-order effects
- Barrett’s position supplies a public case for Intel’s board to keep the foundry and product businesses together, prioritizing execution over a disruptive corporate separation.
- Intel Foundry’s claimed technology parity becomes the key test for the company’s strategy: it must translate manufacturing know-how into credible competition with TSMC while operating inside Intel.
Second-order effects
- A decision to retain the integrated model would keep Intel’s product operations as a closely aligned internal manufacturing customer, rather than forcing new governance and commercial arrangements between a standalone foundry and design business.
- The gap documented in Intel Foundry’s results relative to TSMC means customers and investors will likely evaluate the anti-breakup case on operating performance, not technical assertions alone.
Third-order effects
- The dispute highlights whether a vertically integrated chip company can rebuild a merchant-foundry business without the separation that would make its economics and customer commitments easier to assess.
- If Intel sustains manufacturing improvements, the industry could retain a major integrated alternative to pure-play foundry leadership; if not, calls for structural separation are likely to remain part of its strategic debate.
The trend: Intel’s strategy debate is part of a broader test of whether manufacturing scale, design integration, and external-foundry ambition can coexist in one semiconductor company.