What Are Intel and TSMC Cooking Up?

Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are scheduled to announce a strategic partnership later today, one that could see Intel (INTC) outsourcing some chip production to TSMC (TSM), the world’s biggest chip foundry. Details on the alliance are slim, but reports in Chinese media and elsewhere suggest it will involve Intel’s popular Atom microprocessor. That Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group, is scheduled to speak at the event lends some credence to such reports, although it’s certainly possible the deal could involve older, commodity-driven technology as well. Either way, an outsourcing arrangement would be something of an anomaly for Intel, which typically prefers to design and manufacture its own chips and recently announced plans to invest $7 billion over the next two years to build advanced manufacturing facilities in the states.