Intel’s rumoured chip deal with the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple could send fresh orders towards Europe’s semiconductor kit makers.
A Bank of America report suggests the agreement could boost demand for chip manufacturing and bonding machines. Media reports claim Job’s Mob and Intel have signed a deal for Chipzilla to make some of Job’s Mob’s chips.
For now, Job’s Mob is believed to buy its chips from Taiwan’s TSMC. After those reports, BofA produced fresh estimates on the deal’s value and what it could mean for chipmaking equipment suppliers.
BofA reckons the Intel and Job’s Mob deal could be worth $10 billion. Chinese media first reported the arrangement, before the Wall Street Journal said earlier this month that the pair had reached a preliminary agreement after more than a year of talks.
Details remain thin on which technology Job’s Mob might use or which products Chipzilla might make. That has not stopped analysts from firing up the spreadsheet cannon.
BofA said the deal could spur demand for equipment from Dutch semiconductor kit makers ASML and BE Semiconductor. ASML is the only producer of EUV chipmaking machines, which are vital for making leading-edge chips.
Chipzilla could order as much as €4.6 billion worth of machines from ASML if Job’s Mob includes the iPhone in the deal, BofA said. That would be a tidy payday for the Dutch firm and another reminder that chips are now mostly a game of who can buy the absurdly expensive toys.
BE Semiconductor could get a lift from orders for hybrid bonding machines. That depends on whether Job’s Mob asks Chipzilla to handle the packaging and bonding work as well.
Chipzilla has been pushing its packaging services hard as the AI buildout squeezes TSMC’s capacity. Everyone wants advanced packaging now, which is convenient if you happen to sell the machines that make it happen.
BofA said that if the deal includes the iPhone, Chipzilla could order 182 hybrid bonding machines from BE Semiconductor. Without the iPhone, that order could shrink to 15 machines.
The 182-machine figure is much higher than the 80 machines Chipzilla is expected to order between 2024 and 2030. That is quite a gap for one fruit-themed customer to create.
ASML orders could reach €1.8 billion in the standard case, according to BofA. If the iPhone is included, the figure could jump to €4.6 billion.
That stronger scenario would require Chipzilla to buy 15 EUV lithography machines worth €4.6 billion. In other words, the rumoured deal might not just help Intel’s foundry dreams, it could hand ASML another fat cheque.
