If its much-vaunted 18A chipmaking technology fails to deliver next year, the unthinkable could become reality. 

Speaking at a Barclays investment banking conference in San Francisco, Intel’s interim co-CEOs, Michelle Johnston Holthaus and David Zinsner, clarified that the company’s future as a combined manufacturing and design powerhouse is no longer guaranteed.

“Pragmatically, do I think it makes sense that they're completely separated and there's no tie? I don't think so. But someone will decide that.” 

Chipzilla has spent the past few years haemorrhaging both market value and credibility. Once the undisputed king of semiconductor innovation, it has lost its manufacturing edge to rivals like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and has been thoroughly sidelined in the AI gold rush, which Nvidia now dominates. 

The numbers are stark: Intel has shed more than $100 billion in value as it struggles to regain relevance. Its grand plan to bring the manufacturing of a flagship PC chip back in-house via the 18A technology is now looking less like a bold strategy and more like a desperate gamble. 

Zinsner, who also serves as CFO, revealed that Intel Foundry—its manufacturing division—is already being prepped for independence.

"That's going to happen," Zinsner said.

The unit now operates as a standalone subsidiary with its own operational board and separate business process software system. Whether it will remain merely an independent arm or fully detach from Intel is an open question for another day.” 

The potential spinoff raises existential questions for Intel. For decades, the company’s vertically integrated model—designing and manufacturing its chips—was its calling card, setting it apart from fabless rivals like Nvidia and AMD. But as Intel Foundry edges closer to autonomy, the lines between pragmatism and capitulation blur. 

If the 18A technology delivers as promised, it could be Intel’s redemption arc. But if it stumbles, the company risks losing its manufacturing division and its identity as a semiconductor pioneer. 

Investors, ever eager to find a silver lining, sent Intel’s shares up by 2.3 per cent following the comments. Whether this reflects genuine confidence or just the cocaine nose jobs of Wall Street’s perverse enjoyment of high-stakes drama is anyone’s guess.