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THE SEMICONDUCTOR SURVIVAL BATTLE Part 1 of 5 Lip-Bu Tan (Intel) vs. C.C. Wei (TSMC)

Daniel Nenni

Daniel Nenni

Admin
Staff member
Intel Versus TSMC.jpg


By Tal Horowitz

Everyone thinks Intel is making a comeback. They're wrong.

While tech media celebrates Intel's 18A process and government bailouts, I spent months researching what's really happening between Lip-Bu Tan and C.C. Wei - two CEOs locked in the most consequential corporate battle of our generation.

The truth? This isn't a competition. It's a controlled demolition.

Intel burns $5 billion quarterly trying to reclaim a crown TSMC never plans to return. Tan inherited a company that spent a decade making catastrophic decisions.

Wei? He's sitting on 90% of the world's advanced chip production, with Apple, Nvidia, and AMD as hostages to his supply chain.

But here's what nobody's talking about:

Tan isn't fighting to win. He's fighting to survive long enough for a merger, acquisition, or government takeover. Every "breakthrough" announcement is theater for shareholders and senators. Every partnership with AWS and Microsoft is a desperate plea for relevance.

Meanwhile, Wei plays a different game entirely - one where the US government begs Taiwan for access, where geopolitical tension becomes leverage, where controlling 2nm production means controlling the future of AI, computing, and national security.

I documented this battle across five detailed posts - from Tan's impossible turnaround mandate to Wei's calculated dominance, from the emotional toll on both leaders to the backroom deals that will reshape the industry.

The semiconductor war isn't about technology anymore. It's about pride, legacy, and two men who know only one of them will be remembered as the architect of the AI age.

The other? A footnote in the story of American industrial decline.

Want to know which CEO is already planning their exit strategy?

Read the full 5-part series

The battle for semiconductor supremacy isn't what you think it is.

THE SEMICONDUCTOR SURVIVAL BATTLE Part 1 of 5 Lip-Bu Tan (Intel) vs. C.C. Wei (TSMC) - Tal Horowitz

PART 1: ORIGINS - The Immigrant's Gamble vs. The Farmboy's Ascent A tale of two men from opposite worlds, destined to collide in the battle for the future of
talhorowitz.com talhorowitz.com
 
Daniel Nenni said:
View attachment 3812

By Tal Horowitz

Everyone thinks Intel is making a comeback. They're wrong.

While tech media celebrates Intel's 18A process and government bailouts, I spent months researching what's really happening between Lip-Bu Tan and C.C. Wei - two CEOs locked in the most consequential corporate battle of our generation.

The truth? This isn't a competition. It's a controlled demolition.

Intel burns $5 billion quarterly trying to reclaim a crown TSMC never plans to return. Tan inherited a company that spent a decade making catastrophic decisions.

Wei? He's sitting on 90% of the world's advanced chip production, with Apple, Nvidia, and AMD as hostages to his supply chain.

But here's what nobody's talking about:

Tan isn't fighting to win. He's fighting to survive long enough for a merger, acquisition, or government takeover. Every "breakthrough" announcement is theater for shareholders and senators. Every partnership with AWS and Microsoft is a desperate plea for relevance.

Meanwhile, Wei plays a different game entirely - one where the US government begs Taiwan for access, where geopolitical tension becomes leverage, where controlling 2nm production means controlling the future of AI, computing, and national security.

I documented this battle across five detailed posts - from Tan's impossible turnaround mandate to Wei's calculated dominance, from the emotional toll on both leaders to the backroom deals that will reshape the industry.

The semiconductor war isn't about technology anymore. It's about pride, legacy, and two men who know only one of them will be remembered as the architect of the AI age.

The other? A footnote in the story of American industrial decline.

Want to know which CEO is already planning their exit strategy?

Read the full 5-part series

The battle for semiconductor supremacy isn't what you think it is.

THE SEMICONDUCTOR SURVIVAL BATTLE Part 1 of 5 Lip-Bu Tan (Intel) vs. C.C. Wei (TSMC) - Tal Horowitz

PART 1: ORIGINS - The Immigrant's Gamble vs. The Farmboy's Ascent A tale of two men from opposite worlds, destined to collide in the battle for the future of
talhorowitz.com talhorowitz.com
Click to expand...

"A tale of two men from opposite worlds, destined to collide in the battle for the future of semiconductors."

He might be able to turn it into a movie plot.
 
This sounds like it's written by someone who lives Marvel comics/movies as a lifestyle. Intel's comeback is far from certain, but this writing style...
 
MKWVentures said:
LBT has solved the initial survival phase with deal making. Now he is working on the New Intel for the future. Bigger deals to come and a very different structure.

LBT has fixed 80% of the market cap destruction that his predecessor caused.

amazing what can happen in 8 months
Click to expand...
Well fixing market cap won't solve the core problem of mismanagement easily at least Tan made the hard but necessary decision of cutting Pat should have cut people as well.
 
If Pat had made such deep cuts product development would have been delayed so Intel would be even less competitive than they are.
I think the mistakes Pat made was not stopping issuing dividends immediately, and building too many fabs. He adjusted this but just before he left.

The fab construction binge would have been fine had the US government delivered the funds it was supposed to. But they did not. Intel should have expected this. Governments are always slow to give money.

Arrow Lake was average. But Lunar Lake and Granite Rapids are great products.

I would be surprised if Lip-Bu's cuts aren't delaying process development and the new 18A server chips.
 
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