Intel’s Lip-Bu Tan says Nvidia, AMD and TSMC leaders are his partners, not rivals
Tan described Jensen Huang as an old friend, said Lisa Su bought three companies from his portfolio and called TSMC’s Morris Chang a partner.
“My competitor sitting at the head of my table.”
That is how Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan described the unusual relationships he has built with some of the most powerful executives in the semiconductor industry.
Speaking with Jodi Shelton on her podcast “A Bit Personal with Jodi,” Tan described Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su and TSMC founder Morris Chang not simply as competitors, but as friends, business partners and, in some cases, financial counterparts.
The relationships offer a glimpse into the unusually interconnected nature of the semiconductor industry, where companies can compete in one market while depending on each other elsewhere in the supply chain.
Tan's most striking account concerned Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, whose company is Intel's competitor in computing while also relying on many of the same suppliers and technology providers.
Tan said that when he became CEO of Cadence Design Systems, the electronic design automation company whose software is used to design advanced chips, he reached out to Huang despite expectations that the two would be competitors.
“People were surprised, you know, when I started, I reached out to Jensen. People thought that he's my competitor, and we became partners, and he invested five billion when I needed that.”
When Nvidia finalized its $5 billion investment in Intel in late December 2025, it acquired 214.8 million shares at a locked-in price of $23.28 per share. Spurred by a massive 2026 AI server boom, Intel’s stock has since rallied to $116.03 per share. This dramatic turnaround has ballooned the value of Nvidia’s around 4% stake to nearly $25 billion, netting the company roughly $19.92 billion in unrealized paper gains, a staggering 398% return in a year.
“We are very close friends”
Tan described a similar relationship with Lisa Su, the CEO of AMD, which competes with Intel in processors for PCs and data centers.
“People thought that Lisa is my competitor. We are very close friends. She bought three of my companies which I invested in.”
The relationship dates back to Tan's years as a venture investor, when he backed companies that were later acquired by AMD.
He made the same argument about Morris Chang, the founder of TSMC, the world's leading semiconductor foundry.
Tan recalled a dinner at which Huang referred to Chang as a competitor sitting at the VIP table. Tan said he immediately corrected him.
“I corrected him, well, I'm not your competitor, we're partners.”
Tan said his relationships with rival executives reflect the way he approaches business more broadly.
“I never view people as competitors. Even though I like to win, it's not the zero-sum game in business.”
He said Huang had expressed a similar philosophy by arguing that Nvidia should focus on creating new markets rather than simply competing for existing ones.
“I try to do the same, create my own market, create my niche, and hopefully I can serve the customer better.”
