Intel Foundry has massive capacity in the United States, with its size surpassing that of TSMC's Arizona campus in terms of production capacity and building space. A CNBC crew visited Intel's Fab 52 in Arizona to explore its operations, uncovering some intriguing details about wafer capacity and future production plans. According to their report, Intel's Fab 52 produces approximately 10,000 wafers per week, totaling over 40,000 wafers per month. These wafers are manufactured using the 18A node, Intel's most advanced design, featuring innovations such as a backside power delivery network and gate-all-around transistors, among others.

Compared to TSMC's facility in Arizona, Intel's manufacturing capacity and node designs are superior. TSMC currently produces about 20,000 wafers per month at the older N5 and N4 nodes, which are 5 nm class, in the Fab 21 Phase 1 stage. Although TSMC plans to expand Fab 21 to increase wafer capacity and introduce more advanced nodes, these advancements will primarily remain in Taiwan, keeping U.S.-based TSMC production a few generations behind. Intel, on the other hand, has a limited number of external partners using its nodes, with the 18A node being primarily for Intel's own products, including the upcoming "Panther Lake" processor, and some future generations.