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Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel might axe the 18A process node for foundry customers, essentially leaving TSMC with no rival — Intel reportedly to focus on 14A (Updated)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Lip-Bu Tan, the chief executive of Intel, is considering stopping the promotion of the company's 18A fabrication technology (1.8nm-class) to foundry customers, instead shifting the company's efforts to its next-generation 14A manufacturing process (1.4nm-class) in a bid to secure orders from large customers like Apple or Nvidia, reports Reuters. If this shift in focus occurs, it would be the second node in a row that Intel has deprioritized. The proposed adjustment could result in major financial consequences and alter the trajectory of Intel's foundry operations, as it will effectively withdraw the company from the foundry market for several years. Intel informs us that the information is based on market speculation. However, the spokesperson provided some additional insight on the company's roadmap, which we've added further below.'We are not going to comment on market rumors and speculation," an Intel spokesperson said to Tom's Hardware. "As we have said previously, we are committed to strengthening our roadmap, delivering for our customers and improving our financial position for the future." After taking the helm in March, Lip-Bu Tan announced intentions to cut costs in April, which is expected to involve layoffs and the cancellation of certain projects. According to the new report, by June, he began sharing with colleagues that the 18A manufacturing process — a technology designed to showcase Intel's manufacturing prowess — was losing appeal to outside customers, which is why he believed it made sense for the company to shift away from offering 18A and its performance-enhanced 18A-P version to foundry customers. Instead, Lip-Bu Tan proposed directing more resources to the completion and promotion of 14A, the company's next-generation node, which will be ready for risk production in 2027 and for volume production in 2028. Given the timing of 14A, it is now time to start promoting it among potential third-party Intel Foundry clients. Intel's 18A fabrication technology is the company's first node to utilize its 2nd-generation RibbonFET gate-all-around (GAA) transistors, along with a PowerVia backside power delivery network (BSPDN). By contrast, 14A utilizes RibbonFET 2 transistors, PowerDirect BSPDN, which delivers power directly to each transistor's source and drain through specialized contacts, and features Turbo Cells for critical paths. In addition, 18A is Intel's first leading-edge technology that is compatible with third-party design tools and can be used by its foundry customers. Dropping external sales of 18A and 18A-P would require Intel to account for a substantial write-off reflecting the billions it spent developing the manufacturing technologies, according to individuals familiar with internal deliberations cited by Reuters. Depending on how you count development costs, the resulting charge could total hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Both RibbonFET and PowerVia were initially developed for 20A, but that technology was cancelled for internal products last August in a bid to focus on 18A for both internal and external products. Intel's rationale behind the move may be rather simple. By limiting the number of potential customers for 18A, the company may potentially cut its operating costs. The majority of tools required for 20A, 18A, and 14A (except for High-NA EUV equipment) are already in place at its Fab D1D in Oregon, as well as at Fabs 52 and 62 in Arizona. However, once these tools are formally put into operation, the company will have to report their depreciation as a cost. Not putting them online potentially enables Intel to cut its costs amid uncertainties with orders from third-party clients. In addition, by not offering 18A and 18A-P to external customers, Intel may save money on engineers dedicated to supporting the sampling, ramp, and mass production of third-party circuits at Intel fabs. Obviously, this is speculation on our side. However, by ceasing to offer 18A and 18A-P to external clients, Intel will be unable to demonstrate advantages of its fabrication nodes to a broad range of customers with various designs, which would leave them with a single choice for next two or three years: go with TSMC and use N2, N2P, or even A16. Although Samsung is set to formally start making chips on its SF2 (also known as SF3P) node later this year, that node is expected to be behind Intel 18A and TSMC's N2 and A16 in terms of power, performance, and area. Essentially, Intel would not be showing up to its fight against TSMC's N2 and A16, which will certainly not help to gain the confidence of potential clients towards other Intel offerings, namely 14A, 3-T/3-E, Intel/UMC 12nm, and others. Reuters' sources familiar with the matter explained that Lip-Bu Tan had asked Intel's specialists to prepare proposals for discussion with Intel's board this fall. Options could include ceasing efforts to sign up new clients for 18A, though given the scale and complexity of the issue, the decision might not be finalized until the board meets again later this year. Intel itself reportedly declined to discuss hypothetical scenarios but confirmed that the main customer for 18A has always been its own Products division, which plans to begin producing codenamed Panther Lake CPUs for laptops in 2025 using this technology. Eventually, 18A and 18A-P will be adopted by Clearwater Forest, Diamond Rapids, and Jaguar Shores products. Intel's push to attract large-scale external clients to its Intel Foundry fabs remains critical to its turnaround, as only with high volumes the company will be able to pay off for its process technologies that cost billions to develop. However, in addition to Intel itself, only Amazon, Microsoft, and the U.S. Department of Defence have formally confirmed plans to use 18A. While Broadcom and Nvidia are also reportedly testing Intel's latest process technology, they have yet to commit to using it for actual products. Intel's 18A has one key advantage over TSMC's N2: it features backside power delivery, which is particularly useful for power-hungry processors aimed at AI and HPC applications. TSMC's A16 with Super Power Rail (SPR) will only enter mass production in late 2026, so 18A will maintain the advantage of offering backside power delivery for Amazon, Microsoft, and potentially other customers for a while. However, N2 is expected to offer higher transistor density, which is beneficial for the vast majority of chip designs. Furthermore, while Intel has been running Panther Lake silicon at its D1D fab for quarters (so, currently Intel is still in risk production using 18A), the company's high-volume Fab 52 and Fab 62 started to run 18A test silicon this March, so they will start producing commercial chips only late in 2025, or rather in early 2025. Intel's external customers are, of course, interested in producing their designs at high-volume fabs in Arizona rather than at development fabs in Oregon. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is reportedly considering halting the promotion of the company's 18A fabrication process to external clients and instead focusing on the next-generation 14A production node, aiming to attract large customers such as Apple and Nvidia. The move could trigger massive write-offs, as Intel has spent billions developing 18A and 18A-P process technologies. Shifting focus to 14A could help cut costs and better prepare the node and operations for third-party clients, but the move risks undermining customer confidence in Intel's foundry capabilities ahead of 14A's planned production in 2027–2028. While the 18A node remains critical for Intel's own products, such as Panther Lake CPUs, limited demand from third parties — so far, only Amazon, Microsoft, and the U.S. Department of Defense have confirmed plans to use it — has raised concerns about its viability. The potential decision — which will essentially withdraw Intel from the broad foundry market until 14A comes to market — will be reviewed by Intel's board later this year. Even if Intel eventually chooses to remove 18A from its foundry offerings, aimed at a broad range of applications and clients, the company will still manufacture chips using 18A for its own products, which are already designed for the process. It also intends to fulfill limited orders it has already committed to, including supplying chips for the aforementioned clients. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Customers Are Lining Up for 2nm TSMC N2 Chips
A battle for customers is brewing between Intel and TSMC as the silicon giants prepare for mass production of their next-gen chips. TSMC has the advantage of already being further ahead in developing its N2, 2nm-class node. It started taking orders in April, with Apple likely being its first major customer. But Intel recently hit the risk reduction milestone in its own journey to produce the sub-2nm 18A node, meaning customers have two very solid, high-density processes to choose from for the next couple of years. For its part, TSMC appears to be facing even greater demand for N2 than the company saw for its beloved N3 process, according to the China Times, which comes via Wccftech. According to the China Times, the high demand was confirmed by TSMC Chairman Wi Zhejia, who described it as 'unprecedented.' You'd expect a company to toot its own horn, but in this case, it appears very likely that both chip giants are seeing massive demand. TSMC didn't provide details of the N2 node's defect density rate but said that it's lower than comparable current devices. As Wccftech notes, the defect density rate is likely on par with those of TSMC's older 3nm and 5nm processes. That's a strong selling point for TSMC's process, which is expected to sell its wafers for about $30,000 each. TSMC research and development. Credit: TSMC TSMC has multiple fabs earmarked for its N2 process, though not all are going online at the same time. The first fab to produce the node is Fab 20, near Baoshan, Taiwan, which should be ramping up heavily by the last quarter of this year. Kaohsiung is next, with production expected in early 2026. TSMC also appears to have plans for N2 production in Arizona at Fab 21, but that will come later. Prices will likely be higher for the wafers produced in the US, considering that TSMC charges more for its current US 4nm node, but with US tariffs possible, TSMC's Arizona facility could end up helping US customers. Intel, meanwhile, has a new CEO, a refreshed brand, and a sub-2nm-class node. Broadcom and Nvidia are among those believed to have an interest in chips from the new process. Foundries rarely share specific information about customers, but it seems likely that many big names will take a look at Intel's new node, even as TSMC gobbles up customer orders. For one thing, customers who don't make it to the front of the line for TSMC may eyeball Intel as it ramps up. For another, Intel's 18A includes PowerVia, its backside power delivery network (BPDN). Both TSMC and Intel's latest-gen CPUs have gate-all-around (GAA) transistors for better performance and efficiency, but TSMC didn't put its upcoming BPDN on its N2. That gives Intel an accomplishment to point to, at least until the next generation nodes ramp up.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Intel Foundry And Synopsys Collaborate To Fast-Track 18A Chip Development
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan On Stage At Intel Foundry Direct Connect With Synopsys President And CEO ... More Sassine Ghazi In a joint announcement reflecting the growing importance of ecosystem collaboration in semiconductor design, Synopsys and Intel Foundry have expanded their partnership in support of chip development on Intel's 18A and 18A-P process technologies. This engagement aims to streamline and scale next-generation chip design for applications in AI, HPC, data center, client PC and mobile platforms. As Intel continues to evolve its foundry strategy under the leadership of its new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, collaborations with EDA and core IP providers like Synopsys are key to enabling a competitive and accessible design infrastructure for customers targeting Intel's new advanced process nodes. At the center of the announcement is Intel's 18A chip process, which introduces RibbonFET (Intel's gate-all-around transistor design) and PowerVia (backside power delivery), among other cutting-edge semiconductor design technologies. These innovations are key enablers that improve both performance and power efficiency of chips built on Intel processes at scale. Intel's 18A-P variant builds on this by offering additional optimization for performance-critical applications, and with better transistor density as well. Synopsys Electronic Design Automation Tools And IP Solutions To Accelerate Chip Design On Intel 18A To help design teams adopt these nodes effectively, Synopsys has certified its digital and analog EDA flows for Intel 18A, and those flows are now production-ready for 18A-P. Synopsys also provides a broad library of silicon-proven IP, including chip and system interfaces and foundation IP essential for building advanced system-on-chip designs. The availability of validated tools and IP is critical for customers seeking to reduce development timelines and manage risk when targeting these advanced chip fab nodes. In addition to process design support, the partnership also includes an optimized EDA reference flow for Intel's EMIB-T (Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge Technology), a 2.5D advanced chip packaging solution that facilitates high-bandwidth integration across multiple dies within a single package. The reference flow supports a unified exploration-to-signoff platform, allowing design teams to manage 2.5D and 3D multi-die architectures more efficiently. This is particularly relevant as chip and system-level integration increasingly supplements traditional semiconductor node scaling (Moore's Law) in driving performance and functionality. Intel EMIB-T 2.5D Packaging Technology For Multi-Die System On Chip Designs EMIB-T and related advanced chip packaging technologies are an Intel strong suit for next-generation designs, particularly in data center AI applications, where compute density with better memory proximity helps drive performance. A certified EDA flow can reduce the complexity associated with these packaging technologies and support greater adoption across the industry. Looking ahead, Synopsys and Intel Foundry are also working together on early design enablement for Intel's 14A-E node, which is currently in development. While technical details are still scarce, 14A-E is expected to extend the architectural and manufacturing improvements introduced with 18A with 15 to 20% better performance-per-watt characteristics. By engaging early in the development of tools, flows and IP for 14A-E, the two companies aim to ensure that design infrastructure is in place when the process becomes commercially available, currently slated for late 2026 into early 2027. This approach reflects a broader trend toward concurrent design tool process co-optimization as process chip manufacturing nodes become more complex. This collaboration is aligned with Intel Foundry's broader strategy to build a complete ecosystem of tools, IP, and packaging capabilities that lower the barrier for entry for fabless semiconductor companies, like NVIDIA, Qualcomm, AMD, Broadcom, hot chip and tech start-ups, and many others. Having production-ready flows and validated IP in place is essential for serving both internal product groups at Intel and external customers. For Synopsys, the partnership reinforces its leadership in EDA enablement at advanced nodes and its commitment to supporting emerging packaging and system-level design methodologies. As complexity rises across the design stack, the need for integrated, validated solutions will continue to grow. From a market perspective, the announcement reflects how ecosystem partnerships are becoming foundational to delivering innovation at the angstrom scale. By working in parallel across process development, packaging and design flows, Intel and Synopsys customers can mitigate risk and shorten development cycles. The expanded collaboration between Synopsys and Intel Foundry provides a structured path for design teams targeting Intel's advanced process technologies, including 18A, 18A-P, and the future 14A-E node. With certified EDA flows, a broad IP portfolio, and advanced packaging support for EMIB-T, the partnership addresses key challenges in modern chip development. It will be interesting to track how the two companies progress as new external customers adopt Intel's 18A and advanced process nodes for state-side manufacturing here in the US.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Don't count Intel out as a long-term AI play
Intel (INTC) is in focus amid ongoing recovery efforts. Investors have toyed with the idea of a possible acquisition or split of businesses to revive the legacy chipmaker, which has struggled to keep up as names like Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have capitalized on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Creative Strategies CEO and principal analyst Ben Bajarin joins Morning Brief co-hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith to discuss Intel's position as an AI player and the challenges and concerns the company faces. "There's two things going on that we should be really focused on," Bajarin says regarding Intel. "One: What are their technology differentiators from a foundry standpoint? ... We know that Intel Foundry has a lot of very good core [intellectual property] IP that they've been developing, and that should be worth something." Secondly, Bajarin also suggests focusing on what Intel is "doing with underlying manufacturing technology — things like PowerVia, innovations in backside power, what they're doing in transistors in design." He adds, "We need to think about that the same way that we think about what TSMC (TSM) brings to the table that differentiates their customers to go and compete and design products." The analyst adds, "The [computer processing unit] CPU is still highly relevant to AI infrastructure; it's one of the most critical parts to reduce latency [and] to manage the orchestration layer. " He adds that he thinks investors can "get really caught up" in more advanced chips and "forget" that "there's actually a really nice upswing for design CPUs that are built from the ground up for AI, and we don't have those yet." While Bajarin believes Intel has "a lot of opportunity", he worries that investors may lose patience as "it's a long story." To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With Trump Tariffs Looming, Intel Recruits Clients for US-Made 18A Process
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Intel's "18A" chip-manufacturing process, which promises to turn around the company's business, is ready to start accepting customer orders. The company published a new website hailing the arrival of 18A, which is scheduled to start 'tape outs' in the first half of the year, meaning the chip process has entered the final design process. Intel then expects to kick off volume production in the second half of 2025, including for its 'Panther Lake' laptop chip and the 'Clearwater Forest' server processors. 18A is especially important because it's designed to be competitive with the leading-edge chip-manufacturing process from Taiwan's TSMC, which counts Apple, AMD, and Nvidia as clients. "I've bet the whole company on 18A," former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said last year before abruptly retiring. Intel's website also points out that 18A represents 'the earliest available sub-2nm advanced node manufactured in North America, offering a resilient supply alternative for customers.' This comes as President Trump plans on tariffing foreign-made chips, including those from TSMC, in an effort to push tech companies to migrate their electronics manufacturing to the US. Trump has warned his tariffs will start at '25% and higher' for foreign-made chips. That's a problem for TSMC and its clients since most of the company's manufacturing happens in Taiwan, although its first fab in Arizona recently started chip production. On the flip side, the tariffs could be a boon for Intel, which began making a new push into the foundry business starting in 2021. The company has since struck deals to build chips for Arm, Amazon AWS, and Microsoft using the 18A process, which has been developed at Intel facilities in Arizona and Oregon. The big question is whether the 18A chips will meet the hype. So far, Intel has only said the manufacturing process features an 'up to 15% better performance per watt and 30% better chip density' versus the company's older Intel 3 process node. The resulting chips will also contain a 'PowerVia' and 'RibbonFET' architecture to cut down on interconnect bottlenecks while improving the power efficiency.
