TSMC's 2nm process has attracted significant client interest, with the likes of Apple and Intel lining up to secure the initial production batch amid huge demand.
TSMC's 2nm Process Attracts Huge Client Interest, Apple & Intel Get a Large Portion of Supply Reserved For Their Products
Taiwan Economic Daily reports that TSMC's first batch of 2nm chips, which are expected to come into production by 2025, has reportedly gained interest from Apple, Intel, and other companies. Since Apple has been an exclusive customer of TSMC, it is said that the firm has managed to reserve a portion of the 2nm supply for its next-generation iPhones, and as stated previously, we might see the debut of the process with Apple's iPhone 17 Pro, which will feature successors of the A-series SoCs, given that the company sticks to its current naming scheme.
Apart from Apple, it is being reported that Team Blue might slide into the list of TSMC's 2nm clients since the firm is expected to utilize it for its future Nova Lake CPU lineup. The mention of Nova Lake in the industry hasn't been that much, mainly since the release is still years away, but we did see a glimpse of it just recently when the famous software application HWiNFO added support for the lineup's integrated graphics, which is either going to be an upgraded version of Xe3-LPG, or Intel might decide to add the "Druid" architecture.
While we don't have many specifics about Nova Lake CPUs yet, it is rumored to be the biggest architectural uplift in Intel's history, even bigger than the Core architecture itself. The CPU performance improvement is rumored to be more than 50% over the Lunar Lake chips, which is why the choice of Intel to opt for TSMC's 2nm process makes sense, as the company's foundry service is lacking with cutting-edge processes, and to stay competitive in next-gen markets, the firm needs to adopt a more "mature" semiconductor supplier. The CPUs are targeting a 2026 release window.
Intel Foundry is progressing at a steady rate, especially when the firm announced a collaboration with Taiwan's second-largest foundry, UMC, but for now, it seems like IFS hasn't managed to gain confidence in its upcoming processes. Even though the company's "apparently" more superior 18A process will come into production by H2 2024, opting for TSMC's 2nm for its mainstream CPU architecture does raise questions about Intel's approach with its semiconductor division, but let's not jump into conclusions here.
News Source: Taiwan Economic Daily
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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