Speaking at Citi’s 2025 Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference, Zinsner defended the US government’s unusual decision to take a 10 per cent stake in Intel, calling it “a great deal for the taxpayer and the American people.”
Before the deal, he said Chipzilla had “roughly 5.7 billion dollars of grants still to go, along with $2.2 billion we had already gotten. However, all this money was in an uncertain situation at that point, and Intel wasn’t sure that it would get any of the remaining $5.7 billion.”
The government swapped that uncertainty for equity and cash upfront, except for $3 billion that will be paid in a couple of years. Zinsner insisted Washington would not meddle in Chipzilla’s affairs, promising it would “vote in line with the board recommendations.”
The Altera sale should bring $3.5 billion, with another chunk from Softbank once regulators rubber stamp the paperwork. That money will go straight to clearing $3.8 billion of debt due this year.
“Our intention is that all of that will mature and we will not refinance any of it,” Zinsner said.
When pressed on whether the foundry unit would be hived off into a separate business to attract customers, Zinsner said, “It’s not inconceivable that we do that. I think the likelihood is that it won’t happen anytime soon because it’s not quite investable yet.”
He conceded that government warrants cap any potential sell-off at less than 49 per cent.
Zinsner admitted Chipzilla “spent money ahead of demand over the last few years and that has not served us well.”
He was optimistic about the next generation 14A process. “There is relatively low likelihood it will fail to land customers.
The 14A process will be pricier than 18A thanks to High NA EUV tools and more lithography steps.
“In addition, 14A is more expensive than 18A. You know it’s not significantly, in terms of investment, so it is a higher cost wafer for sure,” Zinsner said.
Despite years of “Intel Inside” bluster, Zinsner admitted that about 30 per cent of Chipzilla’s products currently come from TSMC.
He claimed the percentage would fall, but acknowledged “we will be putting products on TSMC, you know, forever really. You know they’re a great partner for us.”