00:00Tell us about what is driving Intel's stock lower right now.
00:04So essentially, NVIDIA halted a test run of Intel's 18A manufacturing process,
00:08which we know essentially is a process that makes chip making more efficient and faster here.
00:14So we do have this being really critical to Intel's turnaround story.
00:18So that's what's really alarming investors in this moment,
00:21because this is essentially a process that should help Intel compete with a global leader, TSMC.
00:27So investors are essentially concerned that this is sparking doubts about Intel's ability to push forward.
00:33Well, how important is NVIDIA to Intel here, given that Intel is really trying to build trust again, right?
00:38Absolutely. They are trying to build trust.
00:40And if we do flashback, we do know that the government took a 10% stake in this company.
00:44We also did have NVIDIA pledging about, what, $5 million, if I'm not mistaken, $5 billion, excuse me,
00:51to Intel just back in September.
00:52But this is really important to essentially get a co-sign from NVIDIA.
00:56So NVIDIA is not currently a direct customer of Intel.
00:59They actually work mainly with TSMC.
01:02But the fact that they are actually testing out Intel's 18A manufacturing process
01:06essentially gives Intel some validity for its foundry business.
01:09So we know that liquidity is a little bit light today with the thin holiday trading.
01:14But the stock did react fairly strongly.
01:17We're down about 3% in the pre-market.
01:19Why do you think the market reacted so strongly to this move,
01:23particularly if this isn't a contract that we're talking about?
01:25Right. So it's not exactly a contract, as I was reiterating earlier.
01:28But people are really interested in whether or not we can see Intel really making some moves
01:33in this environment, given the fact that they do have some global competitors
01:36and they have struggled for quite a while.
01:38So we really, of course, do see shares up pretty substantially on a year-to-date basis.
01:42But we really are looking for a turnaround story when we think about it from the investor perspective.
01:47So that's why you are seeing share reaction to the decline,
01:50because people are really just concerned about the validity of its business and its efforts moving forward.
01:57Well, and also because, as I remember it, didn't they unveil all of this back in October?
02:01It was a huge event, a three-day event.
02:04And didn't they say that these 18A processors that were being made in this fab,
02:09they would help pay for Intel's own technology in its laptops that are going to go on sale next year?
02:15So if they're not working, what happens to that?
02:18Right, there's a lot riding on this, Vani.
02:19Investors are really looking to see demand for this.
02:22They're also looking to see some valid customers.
02:25Of course, NVIDIA is a very marquee name.
02:28And so investors are really looking to see how many other major customers they can get
02:32and whether or not they're really able to push ahead,
02:34especially as we think about this U.S. chip-making push that we're really seeing
02:38from both the government and a lot of customers right now.
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