Pat Gelsinger returns as Intel CEO

Intel CEO Bob Swan resigns on February 15, 2021, and VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger takes over as CEO. Gelsinger worked for Intel for 30 years, served as CTO, and moved to office in 2009.

At Intel, Brian Matthew Krzanich served as CEO from 2008 to 2018, but he resigned in June 2018 for improper relationships with employees. Bob Swan, who took office as interim CEO afterwards, was appointed as the executive CEO in 2019, but it is reported that the development of the Intel 7nm manufacturing process will be delayed by about a year in 2020. It fits the situation of the presentation.

In this trend, the hedge fund third point invested in Intel is asking Intel to find a strategic alternative. Thirdpoint Daniel Loeb tweeted about the news of the CEO change that Bob Swan is a great man and that it is the right thing to give up a seat to Gelsinger from the standpoint of all shareholders.

Bob Swan has been criticized for being a CFO, or Finance Officer, with no technical background. On the other hand, Gelsinger joined Intel at the age of 18 and became a CTO after working for 30 years.

Gelsinger said that his experience at Intel has shaped his entire life, and he always has a feeling of gratitude for Intel. He said it was the greatest glory in life.

Intel also announced in the announcement that the replacement of the CEO is not related to financial results in 2020, and the 7nm manufacturing process development will be announced as a full update when reporting for the full and fourth quarter of 2020. Related information can be found here .

Meanwhile, TSMC, a semiconductor foundry that has major technology companies such as Apple, Qualcomm, AMD, and Nvidia, as customers, started producing Intel CPUs with 5nm manufacturing processes in the second half of 2021, and in the second half of 2022, manufacturing Intel mid-range and high-end CPUs with 3nm manufacturing processes. There were reports that it would start.

According to a market forecast report released by market research firm TrendForce, it predicts that Intel will entrust most of the production of next-generation CPUs to TSMC. In addition to the CPU, Intel is procuring about 15-20% of its chip production from outside, and most of them are TSMC and UMC. Intel is predicting that in the second half of 2021, the production of its entry-level CPU, Core i3 series, will start with TSMC 5nm manufacturing process, and mid-range and high-end CPU manufacturing will start with 3nm in the second half of 2022.

Intel is lagging behind in the development of 10nm and 7nm manufacturing processes, which is also affecting market competitiveness. In fact, in July 2020, Intel CEO Bob Swan said he was considering outsourcing chip manufacturing, and Intel’s stock price fell 16%.

The development of the manufacturing process is also affecting the smartphone processor, and Intel showed a result that was significantly lagging behind the ARM architecture. In contrast, companies such as Apple and Hi-Silicon are succeeding in manufacturing chips that are superior to competitors through the high process technology possessed by TSMC.

In addition, AMD, which entrusts production to TSMC for PC CPUs, is gradually threatening the Intel PC CPU market share. In addition, when Apple announced the transition to Apple’s silicon, a proprietary Mac processor, Intel lost a large customer of a Mac CPU.

Trend Force points out that Intel will determine its intention to outsource CPU manufacturing as the CPU market changes. In addition, Intel will increase production line outsourcing, so that not only will Intel itself continue to exist as a major IDM, but will also be able to effectively spend money on advanced R&D and facility investments, and thus will be able to produce only high-margin chips on its own production line. Expected to be a positive choice. It also added that if Intel can utilize the TSMC solution, it will be able to manufacture CPUs equivalent to AMD.