New York, Feb 3, 2026, 5:52 PM EST — After-hours
- Intel shares climbed in after-hours trading following CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s announcement that the company plans to develop its own GPUs and has appointed a new lead architect.
- Tan highlighted growing customer interest in Intel’s upcoming “14A” manufacturing process as the company targets foundry clients.
- Traders are focused on customer commitments and a more concrete timeline for products and capacity.
Intel (INTC) shares climbed about 0.9% to $49.25 in after-hours trading Tuesday following comments from CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Reuters. He revealed the company plans to produce graphics processing units for data centers and recently hired Qualcomm executive Eric Demmers as its chief GPU architect. “I just hired the chief GPU architect, and he’s very good,” Tan said. He also mentioned that Intel is already in discussions with several customers and expects volume production on its 14A process to ramp up later in 2026. (Reuters)
The remarks come at a sensitive time for Intel investors. The stock has been reacting sharply to any hint that the company might expand its footprint beyond PCs and traditional server chips into AI hardware.
GPUs are specialized chips designed to run multiple calculations simultaneously, making them essential for training and deploying AI models. Nvidia carved out a dominant position in this space, with competitors scrambling to catch up ever since.
Intel is pushing on two fronts: boosting chip sales for data centers and getting outside clients to use its factories. This “foundry” business aims to offset the expense of building and outfitting new plants.
The broader chip sector showed mixed signals. AMD (AMD) dipped in after-hours trading following its forecast of a sequential revenue drop for the current quarter, underscoring that AI demand can fluctuate rather than rise steadily each quarter. (Reuters)
Filings also revealed insider moves involving Intel shares. CFO David Zinsner disclosed the vesting of performance stock units followed by a tax-driven sale of some shares. Meanwhile, Intel officer April V. Boise submitted a notice proposing to sell 20,000 shares. (Intel Corporation)
Yet diving into GPUs is a costly gamble. Intel must deliver competitive chips and, just as crucial, the developer software tools—facing off against well-established competitors with strong customer loyalties.
Intel recently flagged difficulties in keeping up with demand for certain AI data-center server chips and issued a forecast below Wall Street’s expectations, highlighting execution risks well before its new GPU initiatives gain momentum. (Reuters)
Investors are now waiting for clearer signals on potential GPU clients and more concrete updates on Intel’s foundry plans. The next big date to watch is Intel’s earnings release on April 23, as listed on Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar. (Yahoo)
