Intel has confirmed that its 14A process technology will now enter high-volume production in 2028 as CEO Lip-Bu Tan expresses confidence in the node to offer competitive power, density, cost, and schedule.
Intel 14A Schedule Moves Ahead With High-Volume Production Now Commencing In 2028
Intel has reported another strong financial quarter, highlighting strong demand as a major driver of their revenue. During the earnings call, Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, offered a progress update in the Foundry business.
Intel's "Disciplined Execution" and exceeding confidence that comes from its internal product designs and external customers have established Intel Foundry as a competitive semiconductor maker. In Q2, Intel reported that its Intel 7, Intel 3, and Intel 18A process technologies exceeded internal volume targets. The volume was achieved thanks to improved usage, better cycle times, and increased wafer stocks.
18A in particular saw an increased output, which will help with the ramp of several 18A products such as Panther Lake "Core Ultra Series 3" and Wildcat Lake "Core Series 3". Lip-Bu states that he "keeps on raising the bar on internal targets" and his team continues to meet the challenges that are presented to them.
Intel has also begun risk production of 18A-P, but moving on to 14A, the node has outpaced 18A on both defect density and transistor performance. Intel already has the PDK 0.5 out, and PDK 0.9 is on track for October this year. Intel continues to build out and validate the IP portfolio for 14A as the technology will be adopted "across a wide range of customers".
Lip-Bu is pleased by the increasing momentum on customer engagement for 14A, and they are also focusing several internal products to utilize the technology. As per the latest timeline, 14A is on track for risk production on internal products in the second half of 2027 (2028 prior), and the high-volume production is expected in 2028 (ahead of the original 2029 plans).
I'm pleased to see the increasing momentum on customer engagement for Intel 14A and I'm increasingly confident that the 14A will be highly competitive process offering across key sectors of performance, power, density, cost and schedule.
We're encouraging external customer progress and increased demand for our internal products. We remain on track for 14A risk production for our internal products in second half of 2027 and we make the decision in Q2 to fully commit to high volume ramp in 2028.
Lip-Bu Tan - Intel CEO
The HVM plans for 14A moving ahead show that customers are really keen to use the tech as early as possible, and Intel is expected to roll out its own products on this tech that will showcase the potential of the node to its partners. There are multiple engagements on 14A that have been reported so far, but the big names are still under wraps, and Lip-Bu's customers are waiting for the right moment to unveil that they are building their latest and greatest chips at Intel Foundry.
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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