Intel CEO Lip Buu Tan attends the annual Computex trade show on June 2, 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Cai Xinhan | Reuters
meanwhile intel The chipmaker, which continues to pursue major foundry services customers, has acquired a notable customer from the cybersecurity space.
fortinet Fortinet will use Intel’s foundry to make next-generation security chips, the companies announced Tuesday, a win for Intel CEO Lip Vu Tan, who took over the company in March 2025. Fortinet’s chip SP6 will be manufactured on the Intel 4 process, an Intel representative told CNBC.
Intel said in an April filing that it is still trying to secure “significant” customers for its advanced manufacturing technology to justify the huge capital investments needed to build factories in the U.S. and abroad.
The company’s primary processes designed to manufacture computer processors are known as 14A and 18A. Intel 4 is an older, less advanced manufacturing technology that was established for simple chips called ASICs for networking.
Tan told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in May that “multiple customers” are working with Intel’s foundries, but added that it was his personal policy not to reveal their names. A big announcement to customers will give chip designers and investors confidence that Intel can produce cutting-edge chips at high volumes.
So far, the largest confirmed customer for Intel’s foundries is Intel itself. The US government also uses the foundry to make defense chips. Under former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, microsoft announced a partnership with a chipmaker to make unspecified processors in 2024, and Amazon announced later that year that it would use Intel to build custom artificial intelligence chips, but those announcements were for relatively low-volume chips.
In April, Intel announced that it would help design ASICs such as: google It is called infrastructure processing unit. Intel also supports Elon Musk tesla and space x Build a chip factory called Terafab. And President Donald Trump said in June: apple plans to use Intel to manufacture chips in the United States, but neither company has formally confirmed the deal. The U.S. government acquired a 10% stake in Intel in August, sparking a stock rally that has seen the chipmaker’s stock rise more than 300% in the past year.
Intel is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the bell on Thursday.
Fortinet doesn’t have the name recognition of Apple, Tesla or other hyperscalers, but it operates in a hot market due to the growing demand for advanced security in a world increasingly dominated by AI. Fortinet’s stock price has more than doubled this year, and the company said in its last earnings call in May that it would continue to invest in ASIC technology.
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