Apple is reportedly partnering with Intel Foundry Services to manufacture its chips, potentially ending the company's near-total reliance on TSMC. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the two companies have reached a preliminary agreement for Apple to become a foundry customer using Intel's latest manufacturing nodes.

The deal would see Apple leverage Intel's 18A node, which offers transistor densities and electrical characteristics comparable to TSMC's 2nm-class chips. Intel currently manufactures on the 18A node at its facility in Oregon, with new facilities under construction in Ohio and packaging operations in Arizona and Nevada.

This partnership could strengthen Apple's contribution to the U.S. government's efforts to onshore critical semiconductor manufacturing. For Apple, it represents a major strategic shift after years of building virtually all of its custom silicon through TSMC's overseas fabrication facilities.