Former Chipzilla board member David Yoffie says the firm’s momentum with external clients is hindered because it is trying to be both a partner and a rival, so the product and foundry need firmer walls.

Yoffie said: "If I'm NVIDIA or AMD or Qualcomm, do I really want to put my secret sauce into a manufacturing operation where I am giving Intel access to that secret sauce? And that's going to constrain their willingness to give them very high volume."

The breakup of the foundry and product business is one potential solution that Yoffie wants the board to consider.

Yoffie added: "If you separated the two, I think you'd give Intel a much better shot at being successful."

The pitch comes after a messy transition year that ended with Pat Gelsinger’s exit and a steadier line under chief executive Lip-Bu Tan, who binned talk of a foundry spin-off.

There is chatter that 18A and 14A are pulling interest, but Yoffie reckons Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm will stay cautious if there is any whiff of indirect technology transfer.

Chipzilla keeps insisting the foundry arm is already being run like a separate outfit, even if the branding still screams “we will also try to beat you”.

Intel vice-president John Pitzer said: "Yes. Listen, we're clearly taking steps to create that optionality. And a lot of that is being driven by engagements with external customers who would like to see more separation between the Foundry business and the rest of the company. And so we've got an advisory board today for Intel Foundry. We're moving that into its own legal entity. And so we continue to move down that path to give ourselves that optionality."

Reports say some fabless players are eyeing Chipzilla because TSMC capacity is tight and US manufacturing is politically fashionable, but foundry work lives and dies on paranoia.

Chipzilla’s Arizona fabs, including Fab 52, look the part, yet the real trick is convincing customers their best ideas will not end up as somebody else’s “learning”.