President Donald Trump said Thursday that Apple is partnering with Intel to design computer chips that will be manufactured in the United States. The announcement was made via social media, where Trump wrote: “I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America.”
The partnership comes against a backdrop of significant government involvement in Intel’s finances. Last year, the U.S. government acquired a 10% stake in the chipmaker through an $8.9 billion investment, a move aimed at strengthening domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity. The Trump administration has made onshoring chip production a policy priority, citing supply-chain vulnerabilities and national security concerns.
Investors responded positively to the news. Intel shares rose more than 9% in premarket trading Thursday, signaling market confidence in the collaboration.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, currently manufactures the majority of its processors — used in iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers — in Taiwan through contract manufacturers. The shift toward U.S.-based production represents a significant strategic pivot for the company, which has in recent years sought to diversify its supply chain away from Asia.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, in comments to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, addressed the company’s cost pressures. Cook said Apple had been working to “mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us” and to “shield our customers from the increases.” He added that “the situation has become unsustainable” and that price hikes on Apple products are “unavoidable.”
Computer chips have become increasingly central to the U.S. and global economy, driven by surging demand for processing power, memory, and storage from artificial intelligence applications. The Trump administration’s investment in Intel reflects a broader push to ensure that the country’s semiconductor supply chain can meet that demand — a theme that has been echoed across federal policy discussions in recent months.