Intel's "self-rescue" roadmap: splitting Altera and suspending the $32 billion German factory project

Intel's "self-rescue" plan may directly impact the company's $32 billion factory project in Germany.

According to the latest report from Reuters, Intel's CEO Pat Gelsinger is expected to propose a plan at a board meeting in mid-September, including selling off businesses that the company can no longer fund, such as the programmable chip division Altera, which may also involve pausing or completely stopping its $32 billion factory project in Germany. This plan aims to reduce the company's overall costs and reshape capital expenditures.

The proposal does not currently include plans to split Intel and sell its contract manufacturing business or foundries to buyers like TSMC. However, these proposals are not yet finalized and may change before the board meeting.

Currently, Intel has separated its foundry business from its design business and has been reporting financial results separately since the first quarter of this year. Intel's move is to ensure that potential customers of the design department cannot access the technological secrets of customers using Intel factories (i.e., fabs) to produce chips.

In addition to these plans, Intel has also hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to provide recommendations to the board on which businesses to sell and which to retain.

In the AI era, Intel is going through its toughest period. Currently, NVIDIA is the leading AI chip manufacturer in the market, with a market value of $3 trillion. In contrast, Intel's financial performance in the second quarter of this year was poor, and its market value has fallen below $100 billion. In August, Intel projected a reduction in capital expenditures to $21.5 billion by 2025, a 17% decrease year-on-year, and issued a lower-than-expected forecast for the third quarter.