TSMC founder: "Intel should have focused on AI rather than chipmaking"

Intel should have focused on artificial intelligence (AI) rather than trying to become the largest chipmaker in the industry.

According to Reuters, that’s what Morris Chang, founder and former CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), said during an event to launch his autobiography.

Intel is one of the most renowned chip manufacturers in the world. The Santa Clara-based tech company had a revenue of $54.23 billion in 2023, and a gross profit of $21.71 billion. Intel employs approximately 125,000 people.

During the 1990s, Intel was able to shape the PC landscape and solidify its position on the market thanks to its partnership with Microsoft. However, since the late 2010s Intel was faced with increasing competition, which caused the company’s market share on the PC market to plummet.

To revitalize the company, Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger presented new plans in March 2021 to make Intel industry leader in making the smallest and fastest chips in the business. These included investing in manufacturing facilities and closing a partnership with IBM.

However, the Board of Directors was unhappy with Gelsinger’s costly and slow progress. The CEO was forced to resign on December 1, 2024. According to marketing experts, Gelsinger’s resignation underscores Intel’s identity crisis. The company is trying to regain its position in the semiconductor industry.

“I don’t know why Pat resigned. I don’t know if his strategy was bad or if he didn’t execute it well. Compared with AI, he seemed to focus more on becoming a foundry [a supplier of small and fast computer chips, ed.]. Of course now it seems that Gelsinger should have focused on AI,” Chang said during his book presentation.

“They currently have neither a new strategy nor a new CEO. Finding both is very difficult,” he added.

This is Chang’s second book and covers his professional career from 1964 to 2018, dating back to his life at Texas Instruments up to his retirement at TSMC.

Chang founded TSMC in 1987. In 2005, he stepped down as CEO to focus on his role as Chairman. In 2009, Chang decided to return as CEO to lead TSMC into a new era.