Intel’s $1 Trillion Case: Maverick Capital’s AI-Agent Bet

David Tykocinski, co-chief investment officer of Maverick Capital, pitched Intel as an investment at the closed-door Robin Hood investor conference in New York, according to people present at the event. His prediction: Intel could become the next trillion-dollar semiconductor manufacturer. The pitch frames Intel as a potential beneficiary of the next phase of the artificial-intelligence cycle rather than just an older chipmaker trying to catch up.

Tykocinski’s rationale centers on the rise of AI agents, which break tasks into more components than chatbot-style text generation. The article says agents generally require more CPU usage than GPU usage, pointing to potential upside for major CPU makers Intel and AMD. That argument contrasts with the earlier AI model-testing phase, which helped fuel Nvidia’s rapid growth.

Intel’s market cap is roughly $500 billion, meaning it would need to double in value to reach the trillion-dollar mark cited in the pitch. Tykocinski said Intel’s upside includes more than 100% earnings growth in the next couple of years, according to a person in the audience. Intel still trails semiconductor companies that have surpassed $1 trillion in valuation, including Nvidia, TSMC, Broadcom, and Micron.

Maverick ended the second quarter with an Intel stake worth more than $500 million, according to regulatory filings cited by Business Insider, making it the firm’s fourth-largest public holding at the time. The article also notes that the federal government purchased a 10% stake in Intel last year for just under $9 billion, while Intel’s stock price has more than doubled this year. Maverick declined to comment, and the fund was up more than 16% through the end of September, according to HSBC’s Hedge Weekly report.