Intel's CEO on a mid-2026 podcast: "very distant from TSMC," catch-up a "trust business" surfacing 2030-2032. He details the capital stack behind the doubling-down — US equity stake analogized to Taiwan's early TSMC stake, reported ~$5B NVIDIA investment, SoftBank — yet still sizes the gap in years, not quarters. A CEO talking his book admitting the distance is the most credible timestamp on the race. Spoken claims, flagged for verification.