Intel has announced its new business strategy — IDM 2.0 — as a part of which the company will set up Intel Foundry Services and two new chip factories in Arizona. The company will start fabricating chips for other companies as a part of this initiative and wants to become a key player in this field in the United States and Europe. The company will be investing $20 billion as a part of this new business strategy.

What’s funny is that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger says that the company will try to court Apple as a customer for its foundry business. Apple’s M1 chip has painted Intel in a really bad light showing just how inefficient and power-hungry its chips are. Intel has launched a feeble marketing campaign to show how Intel-based laptops are better than Macs. So, it is a bit ironic to see Intel still trying to win business from Apple.

IFS will be differentiated from other foundry offerings with a combination of leading-edge process technology and packaging, committed capacity in the U.S. and Europe, and a world-class IP portfolio for customers, including x86 cores as well as ARM and RISC-V ecosystem IPs. Gelsinger noted that Intel’s foundry plans have already received strong enthusiasm and statements of support from across the industry.

Gelsinger just said that Intel, which is ramping up a foundry business to manufacture chips for other companies based on their designs, will court Apple as a customer. The age of the Intel Mac might not be over just yet.

— Harry McCracken 🇺🇦 (@harrymccracken) March 23, 2021

There’s a serious shortage of semiconductor chips in the market right now, which is expected to last for at least the next quarter or two. Intel has so far kept its fabs exclusively for itself, but the company realizes that given the demand-supply imbalance, there’s scope for it to find customers for its own fab. However, the company winning orders from Apple for its new foundry business is a long shot.

Apple has long relied on TSMC for fabricating its latest A-series and now M-series chips. Both companies have very strong ties, which is why the global semiconductor shortage will affect all companies except for Apple.