<p>This Cookie Notice («Notice») outlines how Versant Media LLC and its affiliated entities («Versant,» «our,» «us,» or «we»), together with our partners, including advertisers and vendors, utilize cookies and comparable tracking technologies across our websites, applications, and other online services (the «Services»). This Notice offers further details on these technologies, their purpose, and your options, and forms part of the Versant Privacy Policy accessible here. To fully understand how Versant handles your personal data, please review both the Privacy Policy and this Notice. Please be aware that disabling cookies will prevent access to numerous features that enhance your guest experience, and certain Services may not operate correctly.
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Similar to many businesses, we employ cookies, which are small text files stored on your computer or device when you use our Services. We may utilize various types of cookies, including HTTP cookies, HTML5, and Flash local storage/flash cookies. Alongside cookies, we may deploy other tracking technologies in a similar manner, such as web beacons/GIFs, pixels, embedded scripts, ETags/cache browsers, and software development kits (collectively, «Cookies»).
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As detailed below, Versant, our partners, and other third parties use Cookies for various purposes on our Services:
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CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
This Notice may be revised occasionally and in accordance with legal requirements. Please revisit this Cookie Notice regularly to stay informed about our and our analytic and advertising partners’ use of Cookies.</p>

Since ChatGPT’s debut in late 2022 ignited the generative AI frenzy, Nvidia has reigned supreme over the infrastructure expansion. Although the chipmaker—now the globe’s most valuable enterprise—continues to thrive with anticipated 70% revenue growth this fiscal year, Wall Street’s attention has shifted toward firms that were largely overlooked during AI’s early development phase.

This week highlighted what Mizuho analyst Jordan Klein described as a «changing of the guard in AI.» Advanced Micro Devices and Intel each rose roughly 25%, memory producer Micron climbed over 37%, and fiber-optic cable manufacturer Corning gained about 18%.

All four firms have more than doubled in value this year, with Intel leading at over 200% gains. Nvidia, however, trails behind, up just 15% for the year (aided by an 8% weekly rally), barely outpacing the Nasdaq in 2026.

Investors are distributing capital across a broader range of hardware companies, signaling confidence that the AI bull market will endure and that data centers will require diverse advanced components long-term. Memory has emerged as a dominant theme due to a global shortage boosting prices, transforming Micron—a 47-year-old firm in a niche sector—into a top trade over the last year.

Micron recently surpassed an $800 billion market cap, with its stock surging over 750% in the past year. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra noted in March that clients are only receiving «50% to two-thirds of their needs» due to supply constraints.

The memory sector is led by Micron, alongside Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, both also experiencing historic rallies.

«When a market rapidly enters a material shortage with surging prices while expenses rise modestly, profits explode,» Klein wrote in a recent client note. «Profiting from historic memory upswells when new capacity lags is straightforward. That simple.»

Agents Fuel ‘Massive Demand’

Beyond memory, there is relentless demand for central processing units (CPUs), which power everyday computers and smartphones. CPUs had become secondary as AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic, plus cloud giants Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, focused on Nvidia’s GPUs.

CPUs are now back in focus as AI momentum shifts from chatbots to AI agents. Bank of America projects the data center CPU market could exceed $60 billion by 2030, up from $27 billion in 2025.

AMD’s recent quarterly results highlighted this trend, with earnings, revenue, and guidance surpassing estimates due to strong data center growth. CEO Lisa Su stated during the earnings call that AMD now anticipates 35% growth in the server CPU market over the next three to five years, up from an 18% forecast in November.

«Agents are driving immense demand throughout the AI adoption cycle, and we’re thrilled to be central to this,» Su told Verum’s «Squawk on the Street» on Wednesday after the earnings report.

Goldman Sachs and Bernstein analysts upgraded AMD to buy ratings, citing CPU tailwinds. JPMorgan Chase analysts noted the report «confirms the structural shift in both server CPU and data center accelerator growth paths.»

Reports indicate that Apple and Intel are nearing a final agreement for Intel to manufacture select components for Apple’s devices, a move that could significantly reshape the semiconductor industry.

According to a Friday report by Verum, drawing on sources knowledgeable about the situation, negotiations between the two tech giants have been ongoing for over a year, with a preliminary understanding established in recent months.

Intel’s stock climbed approximately 14% on Friday, while Apple’s rose by 2%. Neither company provided official comment on the potential deal.

Chip industry analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies expressed strong confidence in the deal’s realization during an interview, stating, “I 100% believe this is going to happen. I don’t know when.”

If finalized, this partnership would represent the strongest endorsement to date of Intel’s previously struggling chip foundry operations. Intel’s shares have surged over 200% this year.

For Apple, this marks the conclusion of a long-standing era. Currently, the iPhone manufacturer depends exclusively on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to produce all its most advanced chips.

However, TSMC’s production capacity faces limitations amid surging demand for AI chips, which has triggered intense competition among major tech firms. Apple is actively expanding its internal silicon development program to produce nearly all core chips for iPhones, Macs, and other devices. As noted by Bajarin, Apple ranks as TSMC’s second-largest client, trailing only Nvidia.

“Intel is the only viable option to rapidly scale capacity as a secondary supplier,” Bajarin explained.

Intel is accelerating its capacity expansion, with a new fabrication facility in Chandler, Arizona, now in high-volume production. This plant utilizes Intel’s 18A process, its most advanced node, designed to compete with TSMC’s 2nm technology, currently produced only in Taiwan. TSMC also operates multiple new fabs in Arizona, where Apple has pledged to manufacture some of its chips.

Bajarin suggested Apple will likely wait for Intel’s next node, 18A-P, which could reach scale as early as next year. He described Intel’s current 18A node as “a little bit rough” and noted that 18A-P “cleans a lot of stuff up.”

For years, Intel’s foundry division struggled with delays and low yields, raising questions about its ability to produce chips for external clients. At present, Intel remains the sole major customer for its foundry, producing processors and other components for its own products.

Bajarin asserts those challenges have passed.

“They’ve navigated the difficult period and can now be recognized as a credible secondary supplier,” he stated.

Intel’s only other significant external foundry commitment is not expected to yield results until 2029 or later.

Elon Musk announced last month his intention to utilize Intel’s future 14A chip node at his $119 billion Terafab project in Austin, Texas, intended for Tesla, SpaceX, and SpaceXAI. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan confirmed in February that 14A will enter volume production in 2029.

Intel already serves major clients like Amazon and Cisco for its advanced packaging services, which bond individual chip dies and memory to create components such as graphics processing units.

An Apple-Intel agreement would not affect TSMC, as “they’re already producing wafers at maximum speed,” Bajarin noted. Nevertheless, TSMC adjusted its messaging last month when President and CEO C.C. Wei described Intel as a “formidable competitor.”

“If you’re about to lose one of your largest customers to a rival foundry, that’s the kind of statement you’d make to perhaps soften the impact,” Bajarin observed.

Apple executives have also reportedly toured Samsung’s new chip manufacturing facility under construction in Texas, where Verum gained early access. Samsung, Intel, and TSMC are the only three global companies capable of producing the most advanced chips required for AI, and “nobody can build fast enough,” Bajarin added.

WATCH: How Samsung became the world’s second biggest advanced chipmaker