Chipzilla's design and manufacturing limbs said to be on the table Venture capitalists are circling Intel amid talk that the beleaguered chip giant may be carved up between Broadcom and TSMC, with one taking the design biz and the other the manufacturing fabs.

Within the next several weeks, Intel is likely to be broken up into at least two, possibly even three or more pieces, as the world’s largest chip-making firm or foundry operator, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and the world’s number two chip design firm Broadcom divide its assets up.

Intel is reportedly in discussions about selling its business. One potential scenario is Broadcom buying Intel's design arm and TSMC taking over its manufacturing unit.