Intel (INTC) shares dropped 6.1% during Thursday's late trading session following reports that OpenAI has excluded the chipmaker from its multi-trillion-dollar computing infrastructure investments in recent months—despite Intel's full-stack AI hardware and software offerings. Notably, even Google's TPUs made OpenAI's procurement list, while the U.S.-based semiconductor giant remained conspicuously absent.

More strikingly, OpenAI explicitly stated its preference for queuing up for TSMC’s advanced process capacity over utilizing Intel’s foundry services. This stance is particularly notable given Intel’s wafer manufacturing has been designated a U.S. national strategic priority, with even NVIDIA committing $5 billion in support. OpenAI’s apparent disregard has fueled industry speculation about the underlying reasons.