TSMC Founder Reveals Why Apple Chose Them Over Intel as Custom Chip Supplier

TSMC founder Morris Chang has revealed that Apple CEO Tim Cook rejected Intel as an iPhone chip manufacturing partner in 2011, and told him that "Intel just does not know how to be a foundry."

tsmc founder morris chang
In a new YouTube interview with Acquired, Chang recounts how Apple briefly paused discussions with TSMC in February 2011 when Intel's CEO approached Cook about manufacturing Apple's iPhone chips. At the time, Intel was already supplying processors for Apple's Mac lineup.

Despite the existing relationship, Cook ultimately chose TSMC over Intel after just two months of consideration. According to Chang, Cook's decisive comment about Intel's foundry capabilities came during a private meeting at Apple's headquarters in March 2011.

"I wasn't too worried," Chang said, explaining that TSMC had advantages over Intel in manufacturing capabilities and customer trust. "I knew a lot of Intel's customers in Taiwan, and none of them liked Intel. Intel always acted like they were the only guy for microprocessors."

Chang said that TSMC's success was built on its responsive approach to customer needs. "When the customer asks a lot of things, we have learned to respond to every request," he explained. "Some of them were crazy, some of them were irrational, but we respond to each request courteously. Intel has never done that."

The decision proved pivotal for both companies. TSMC went on to become Apple's exclusive chip manufacturer, producing all Apple silicon chips, including those for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Meanwhile, Intel's foundry business struggled for years to gain traction with external customers. Only recently did the company revamp its manufacturing strategy with the establishment of Intel Foundry, set up to produce integrated circuits for external clients. In September 2024, for example, Intel's foundry business secured Amazon’s AWS cloud services unit as a customer for custom AI chips.

Tags: Intel, TSMC

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...

Top Rated Comments

alexjholland Avatar
9 weeks ago
I feel zero sympathy for Intel reading this.

No matter how big you get — never, ever assume you cannot be disrupted.

14 years ago a bodybuilder in my gym was the Chief Operations Officer for a chip company.

He told me, 'Buy ARM. Apple will build laptops with their chips because Intel cannot go smaller'.

I wish I'd listened to him. ?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
9 weeks ago

I feel zero sympathy for Intel reading this.

No matter how big you get — never, ever assume you cannot be disrupted.
Same could be said for Apple, in a way. Apple does too many things and is too distracted which inhibits their ability to make insanely great products now. They should have stayed out of the content business IMO. Big distraction for them, in spite of what others have argued, being a different team and all. Media content is an app and others could have handled that. Too many kinds and not enough sizes. For iPhone, iPad and Mac they should do a budget line in a few sizes and a premium line in a few sizes, and forgo all of the pricing ladder bull. Innovate, don't corporate. Their iPhone and iPad lines will continue to be needlessly confusing.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MRSugarD Avatar
9 weeks ago
Funny thing is that even Intel lets parts of its latest Core Ultra processors being manufactured by TSMC.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
throAU Avatar
9 weeks ago
intel is cooked.

they managed to win throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s due to their foundry strength and close integration between the chip designers and the foundry - but those days are gone. They're now on an even or even slightly "less than" playing field.

AMD always had competitive or superior designs but the fab technology lead carried intel through the 20th century - but now TSMC ate their lunch and their designs are having to try and stand up on an inferior node and it just shows how weak their stuff is.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unregistered 4U Avatar
9 weeks ago

Same could be said for Apple, in a way. Apple does too many things and is too distracted which inhibits their ability to make insanely great products now. They should have stayed out of the content business IMO. Big distraction for them, in spite of what others have argued, being a different team and all. Media content is an app and others could have handled that. Too many kinds and not enough sizes. For iPhone, iPad and Mac they should do a budget line in a few sizes and a premium line in a few sizes, and forgo all of the pricing ladder bull. Innovate, don't corporate. Their iPhone and iPad lines will continue to be an unnecessarily confusing mess.
Not really, Apple’s business doesn’t depend on them being the only solution, just the preferred solution among those with that most desired property of customers, currency. They’re not interested in a budget line because budget lines are for those trying to be PLENTIFUL over PROFITABLE.

They’re more than happy to leave the bargain basement to EVERYONE else because they have no interest in those customers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rp2011 Avatar
9 weeks ago
Having a monopoly like Intel and Windows once had gives companies the misguided feeling that they can just coast and focus on milking their customer with the delusion that no one will ever be able to compete with them.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)