Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, in an interview with Bloomberg Tech, claimed that Intel Foundry isn't yet suitable for its use case, but there is significant potential in the new nodes. According to the CEO, "Intel is not an option today," adding that "We would like Intel to be an option." The CEO discussed how the current Intel Foundry node, likely referring to Intel 18A, is not a suitable option for their mobile chips. However, the primary selling point of the vanilla 18A node isn't mobile, low-power SoCs, but rather mid-range and high-power solutions. "We design all of our chips assuming there's a battery on the other side, not plugged into the wall," said Amon, when asked about the design of their chips and their recent collaboration with German automaker BMW.

Qualcomm will continue to source its low-power SoC from TSMC and Samsung, both of which are skilled in mobile designs. For Intel, most customer attention is drawn to the enhanced 18A nodes, specifically 18A-P, scheduled for rollout in 2026, and 18A-PT, targeted for 2028. This, along with Intel 14A, will be a turning point for the foundry, which seeks to attract customers, including Qualcomm, with these improved nodes. US-based companies are constantly evaluating Intel Foundry services, and over time, these services are becoming increasingly attractive in areas such as packaging, not just advanced manufacturing. Still, the primary goal of Intel Foundry is leading-edge node production, so when/if customers like Qualcomm come, they will need to be ready with satisfying yield and performance figures.