[News] Intel 18A Faces Setback as Customers Withdraw After Trial Production

Intel previously announced that its advanced 18A process had entered risk production, with some customers planning to use the new node for test chip production. However, according to a report from Reuters, Intel CFO David Zinsner revealed that some of those customers later withdrew after trial production, leading to a lower-than-expected volume of committed demand.

The company has also faced challenges in advancing its 18A and next-generation 14A chip manufacturing technologies, as noted by Zinsner and cited in the report.

Zinsner added that Intel’s foundry business is expected to break even sometime in 2027, but achieving that target will require billion dollars in revenue from external customers. However, the number of processors Intel is set to produce for external customers is “not significant,” Zinsner said, as cited in the report.

As the report notes, there were earlier rumors in March that AI chip giant NVIDIA and custom AI chipmaker Broadcom were testing Intel’s process. More recently, Chosun Biz said Microsoft has reportedly signed a large-scale foundry deal with Intel using the 18A process.

Intel’s foundry reported USD 4.7 billion in sales for the March quarter, a 7% increase from a year earlier. However, as the report underscores, a large portion of that revenue came from chips made for Intel’s own product lines, rather than from external customers.

Read more

• [News] Intel 18A Reportedly Lands Major Deal with Microsoft; Google and NVIDIA Said to Be in Talks
• [News] Intel Ramps Up Foundry Race: 14A Risk Production in 2027; 18A Variants Drop in 2026 and 2028

(Photo credit: Intel)