Intel is seeking an investment from Apple as part of its comeback bid

By Ryan Gould and Liana Baker Bloomberg Intel Corp has approached Apple Inc about securing an commitment in the ailing chipmaker according to people familiar with the matter part of efforts to bolster a business that s now partially owned by the US executive Apple and Intel also have discussed how to work more closely together declared the people who inquired not to be identified because the deliberations are private The talks have been early-stage and may not lead to an agreement the people explained Related Articles Nvidia to invest billion in Intel companies will work together on AI infrastructure and PCs After Trump announcement Intel among several companies to make Bay Area job cuts Intel agrees to give US a stake in company Trump says Intel s billion rally sends valuation to dot-com levels Trump thinks owning a piece of Intel would be a good deal for the US Here s what to know Shares of Intel rose to on Wednesday in New York after Bloomberg News disclosed on the discussions Apple closed down less than at Such a deal would follow a billion venture last week by Nvidia Corp which plans to work with Intel on chips for personal computers and figures centers SoftBank Group Corp the Japanese tech giant seeking to expand further in the US broadcasted a billion funding in Intel last month Intel also has reached out to other companies about realizable investments and partnerships the people disclosed A deal with Apple a longtime Intel customer that switched to in-house processors in the past five years would represent further validation of the chipmaker s turnaround bid Still it s unlikely that Apple would switch back to Intel processors in its devices The iPhone maker s largest part sophisticated chips are now produced by partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co A representative for Intel declined to comment An Apple spokesperson didn t respond to a request for comment Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan is attempting a comeback with the backing of the federal regime In an unconventional deal brokered by the Trump administration in August the US acquired a roughly stake in the chipmaker Intel is seen as a critical piece of efforts to reinvigorate domestic production a priority for the White House Even with financial sponsorship Intel s challenges remain daunting The Santa Clara California-based company has lost its long-held technological edge and ceded region share to rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc Moreover Intel has struggled to capitalize on booming sales of artificial intelligence gear a specialty of Nvidia Once the dominant chipmaker Intel now has a fraction of Nvidia s sales and sphere capitalization It also has laid off workers and delayed factory expansion plans to cope with its deteriorating finances Still investors have grown more optimistic about its prospects since the authorities infusion The stock is up more than since the beginning of August Under former CEO Pat Gelsinger Intel set out to become a chip foundry a business that makes semiconductors for outside clients But the company has struggled to secure enough customers to encouragement its factory expansion plans Intel has continued to pursue the foundry strategy under Tan though more cautiously He explained in July that Intel would only roll out a new cutting-edge production technique called A if customers committed to it Apple and Intel have a long sometimes strained history together Apple used Intel chips in its Macs for years but began shifting away from the supplier in part of a broader effort to use more in-house components Apple also acquired the greater part of Intel s modem chip business in These days Apple has sought to show that it s investing heavily in the US even as much of its production remains overseas At a White House event in August the company stated plans to spend billion on domestic initiatives over a four-year period up from a previous pledge of billion The centerpiece of the expansion was a billion resources in Corning Inc Apple s longtime glass supplier Apple CEO Tim Cook communicated CNBC s Jim Cramer that the investments would encourage other companies to add US production creating a domino effect When questioned about Intel he announced that competition would be good for the chip foundry industry We d love to see Intel come back Cook declared With assistance from Mark Gurman Ian King and Mackenzie Hawkins More stories like this are available on bloomberg com Bloomberg L P