According to Reuters, Intel believes it can gain a competitive edge over TSMC by doing so and such a decision would be at the heart of the company’s efforts to attract major customers – many that currently rely on TSMC for chip production.
Should Intel decide to discontinue external sales of its 18A and 18A-P processes, it could be faced with making a write-off worth billions of dollars as the manufacturing processes for these nodes have cost Intel billions to develop.
It’s been suggested that the company’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan has told the company to prepare proposals for the board which will include halting efforts to market the 18A process to new foundry customers.
Tan is said to have expressed concerns that 18A is becoming less appealing to potential clients, at a time when he is looking to move faster to cut costs and find a new path to revive the ailing US chipmaker.
Because of the costs involved sources have suggested that the board may postpone a final decision on 18A until the autumn when a follow-up meeting is said to have been scheduled.
This is still a rumour, and Intel has yet to comment.
Should the company decide to take the plunge and shift its focus to 14A, it is likely to continue producing chips using 18A where plans have already been agreed, small volumes of the chips are committed to both Amazon and Microsoft, for example.
According to Reuters the primary customer for 18A is Intel itself, and it plans to ramp up production of its “Panther Lake” laptop chips in late 2025, which it claims will be the most advanced processors ever designed and manufactured in the US.
Intel’s14A process is expected to deliver a 15–20% performance gain and 25–35% lower power consumption compared to 18A and both the 14A and its enhanced variant, the 14A-E, are slated to begin risk production in 2027.
