Intel Corp. Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger still hopes to win back Apple Inc. as a customer, but says Intel will have to outcompete the tech giant to do so.
In an interview aired Sunday night on “Axios on HBO,” Gelsinger told Axios reporter Ina Fried that he doesn’t blame Apple AAPL, +0.75% for dropping Intel INTC, +1.04% and deciding to make its own chips.
“Apple decided they could do a better chip themselves than we could,” he said. “And, you know, they did a pretty good job. So what I have to do is create a better chip than they can do themselves. I would hope to win back this piece of their business, as well as many other pieces of business, over time.”
“In the meantime, I’ve gotta make sure our products are better than theirs, that my ecosystem is more open — and vibrant — than theirs, and that we create a more compelling reason for developers and users to land on Intel-based products,” Gelsinger said. “So I’m gonna fight hard to win [Apple CEO Tim Cook’s] business in this area.”
Intel had made chips for Apple’s Macs since 2005, before Apple carried out a long-rumored switch last year to making its own custom chips.
Gelsinger noted that a reunion with Apple could take years, and mentioned that another option would be for Apple to eventually use Intel’s chip-manufacturing facilities. Intel already makes chips for Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +3.31% and Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, +1.20%, among others.
Intel is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Thursday. Analysts expect nearly flat earnings and revenue compared with a year ago. Intel shares are up 9% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s SPX, +0.75% 19% increase this year.