Fortinet Named Intel Foundry's First Corporate Customer

Fortinet signed on as the first announced corporate customer for Intel's foundry business under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, commissioning production of custom security ASICs. The deal is Intel Foundry's first named external customer win since Tan took over in March 2025.

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This is a modest but structurally meaningful proof-of-concept for Intel Foundry's viability as a contract manufacturer competing against TSMC and Samsung. A named customer — even a single security-chip contract — validates that Intel can attract fabless or design-house clients under its new leadership, helping it qualify for future CHIPS Act disbursements that require demonstrated commercial demand. Fortinet gains access to a domestic, non-Taiwan fab for its proprietary security silicon, reducing geopolitical supply-chain risk. Intel's foundry economics improve marginally, though one customer does not change the competitive gap with TSMC. The deal signals that niche, security-sensitive US customers may prefer Intel Foundry for ITAR and supply-chain-security reasons even at a cost or yield premium.