Will more funding be needed to keep Intel competitive?

On 1 August 2024, Intel announced financial results for the second quarter of 2024. They weren’t pretty; the company’s stock dropped more than 25 percent as it announced an aggressive plan to cut costs, including layoffs that will impact 15 percent of its entire workforce.

  • GiddyGap
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    17 days ago

    good riddance to bad rubbish.

    Well, that’s the thing. They are kind of “too big to fail” and Intel is too important for the US to let it fail or even get behind the curve.

    There’s probably more government money headed their way. Just like there is more foreign government money headed to their competitors in other countries. It might become more of a subsidy battle between governments than a money-making competition between companies.

    • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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      17 days ago

      the curve is firmly set by Taiwan, Intel is playing catch up at best.

      Intel is just the right size to fail.

      • GiddyGap
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        17 days ago

        I don’t think that’s necessarily true.

        Much of Intel’s foundry future is bet on Intel 18A, the company’s next leading-edge semiconductor production process. This “1.8-nanometer” production process will combine multiple Intel innovations including 3D hybrid bonding, nanosheet transistors, and back-side power delivery. Demler says that, if all goes to plan, Intel’s 18A should compete directly with, or even exceed, TSMC’s upcoming 2N process technology.

        • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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          17 days ago

          “bet”, “next”, “will”, “if”, “plan”, “should”.

          that’s a lot of faith to place in the unproven optimistically hypothetical next steps of a company way behind the firmly established innovation, dominance and reliability of TSMC semi fab.

          • GiddyGap
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            17 days ago

            Sure, but it’s also hard to bid against a company that we all know the US government is not going to let fail.

            • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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              17 days ago

              no bidding, it’s history.

              Intel has been that big for decades and has been left in the dust by TSMC for decades.

              the US has repeatedly invested in “too big to fail” companies and has been rewarded with recessions, housing crises, national credit demotion, crippling healthcare costs, and rampant inflation.

              if it’s too big to fail, it’s too big to exist.