During an interview with CNBC, Gelsinger said he feels encouraged about the gains that Intel has made in its foundry business.
- Gelsinger said he thinks Intel is “lethally positioned” to help manufacture more semiconductors to meet the growing demand driven by artificial intelligence.
- He reflected on the foundry strategy he announced in 2021, saying the initial plan had a five-year timeline to stitch together the different pieces of the puzzle.
- The former Intel CEO also said he was not opposed to the U.S. government taking a stake in the company.
Former Intel Corp. (INTC) CEO Pat Gelsinger praised his successor and current CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, as well as the chipmaker, as its foundry strategy is gaining traction amid deals with several big technology companies.
During an interview with CNBC, Gelsinger said he feels encouraged by the gains Intel has made in its foundry business as it continues to execute on the strategy he laid the foundation for five years ago.
“This needs to work and I’m just delighted I got to play a role in part of that journey,” Gelsinger said.
Intel shares were down nearly 5% in Wednesday’s pre-market trade.
INTC ‘Lethally Positioned’ In Chip Manufacturing, Says Gelsinger
Gelsinger also said he thinks Intel is “lethally positioned” to help manufacture more semiconductors to meet growing demand driven by artificial intelligence.
“The world needs more semiconductors, the U.S. needs more semiconductors. Intel is lethally positioned for that to happen,” he added.
Gelsinger also reflected on the foundry strategy he announced in 2021, saying the initial plan had a five-year timeline to stitch together the different pieces of the puzzle.
“Clearly, when we started that journey, I said it was five plus years to get the process technology, the capital in place, the mechanisms for foundry. Here we are, it’s about five years and all of those things are coming true. To me, that’s just an affirmation of the strategy,” he added.
Intel has partnered with Tesla Inc. (TSLA), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL), and Apple Inc. (AAPL) to manufacture chips for them.
Gelsinger Says He Wasn’t Against The Government Picking Up A Stake
Gelsinger said he was not opposed to the U.S. government taking a stake in the company.
“So far, that's worked well for Intel. The shareholders will be happy, the company will be happy, the industry views this as a positive thing,” he added.
However, he believes that this is not a tool that should be used in all cases, adding that this is just one of the ways to accomplish the government’s industrial policy objectives of bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.
The U.S. government picked up a 9.9% stake in Intel in August 2025 in an $8.9 billion deal, taking ownership of 433.3 million shares at a purchase price of $20.47 a piece. Intel shares have soared 439% since then.
Gelsinger’s Foundry Strategy For INTC
Gelsinger unveiled Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy in 2021, an overhaul of Intel's manufacturing model aimed at restoring its technology leadership.
The plan rested on three pillars: continuing to manufacture most Intel chips in-house, increasing the use of third-party foundries where it made strategic sense, and building a contract chipmaking business through the newly launched Intel Foundry Services (IFS).
As part of the strategy, Intel committed roughly $20 billion to build two new semiconductor fabrication plants in Arizona, while outlining broader capacity expansion plans across the U.S. and Europe.
What Retail Traders Think Of INTC Stock
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Intel trended in ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.
INTC stock is up 199% year-to-date and 402% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 20% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) is up 29%.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is up 20% during this period.
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