September 8, 2025 /SemiMedia/ — Intel’s chief financial officer David Zinsner said about 30% of the company’s chips are currently manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), underscoring the U.S. chipmaker’s continued reliance on its Asian partner for advanced nodes.

Speaking at Citigroup’s Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, Zinsner noted that Intel began outsourcing production to TSMC in recent years and that dependence may fluctuate based on product strategies and foundry output. He highlighted that processors such as Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake already rely on TSMC’s technology.

On technology development, Zinsner said CEO Lip-Bu Tan has growing confidence in Intel’s 14A process, which is more costly than 18A as it requires High-NA EUV lithography tools. He added that past investments ahead of demand had not benefited the company, but 14A is expected to be a critical step forward.

Addressing speculation on whether Intel might spin off its contract manufacturing unit, Zinsner said such a move was unlikely in the near term as the business is not yet at an investable scale, though he did not rule out the possibility in the future.

Intel is also working to complete the divestiture of its programmable chip unit Altera within weeks, a deal expected to bring $3.5 billion in proceeds. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s planned investment is scheduled to close by the end of the third quarter.

Zinsner further said the U.S. government’s decision to take a 10% equity stake in Intel helps eliminate uncertainties tied to pending subsidies and political oversight, noting that any votes would be aligned with board recommendations.