The two are supposedly in the early stages of discussions, but no one is sure whether Supermicro will place orders with Chipzilla or even invest in it directly. Sources familiar with the matter said the whole thing may fizzle without any agreement at all.

Most of Supermicro’s juicier AI silicon comes from TSMC, and Chipzilla still lacks the technical chops to churn out the firm’s most advanced chips. At best, it could handle more mundane silicon like I/O controllers and embedded kit.

The US government has already taken a direct stake in Intel, making it clear Washington sees the outfit as a strategic asset. Winning orders from Supermicro would let Chipzilla claim its processes are competitive, while for Supermicro it would be a handy way to diversify its supply chain and leverage the current policy climate.

Market watchers are unsure whether Supermicro would risk giving high-end AI work to its rival, or keep Chipzilla confined to mature processes. Yield rates, confidentiality guarantees and total cost of ownership will be key to deciding if this partnership goes anywhere.

Bernstein analyst Resgen poured cold water on the hype, saying cooperation between Supermicro and Chipzilla was far less likely than between Nvidia and Intel.

“At least for now, both sides are unlikely to seriously want to rely on each other,” he said.

Intel kept mum when asked for comment. A Supermicro spokesperson trotted out the usual line that it "does not comment on market rumours or speculation.”

Chipzilla’s fabs are still considered behind TSMC, but under Trump-era policies that bang on about “America needing chip manufacturing champions,” US tech giants have already started funnelling some of their low-end production into Intel’s domestic foundries.