Shares of Intel are surging before the opening bell after the chipmaker said its foundry business would make some custom artificial intelligence chips for Amazon Web Services as it attempts to reinvigorate its business.

U.S. equities were higher around midday as August retail sales were higher than anticipated and the Fed began its two-day policy meeting.

Intel Corp. has made a raft of announcements over the past 24 hours in an effort to prove that a turnaround for the troubled chipmaker is starting to bear fruit.