Intel recently held its Intel Foundry Services Direct Connect event, which marked a significant milestone in the company’s new manufacturing strategy. The event highlighted Intel’s plans to consolidate its customer manufacturing, system design, packaging, and connectivity solutions under one roof.
During the event, Intel unveiled its new process roadmap, which included the announcement of its 14A node. This cutting-edge node, expected to hit the market in 2026 or 2027, will be the first to make use of High-NA lithography. It will incorporate PowerVia backside power delivery and RibbonFET GAA transistors, making it a significant technological advancement.
While Intel did not provide specific details on products that will be built on the new node, it is anticipated that enterprise-tier products will be a priority. However, consumer laptop and desktop chips are also expected to benefit from this new technology.
Intel’s Manufacturing Roadmap
Intel’s announcement of the 14A node is part of its ambitious manufacturing roadmap, known as the ‘four nodes in five years’ strategy. This roadmap began with the launch of the Intel 7 node, which is used for manufacturing 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen processors. Subsequent nodes, such as Intel 4, Intel 3, and 20A, are also part of this aggressive strategy.
Intel’s aggressive manufacturing strategy is seen as risky, given its past issues and delays with previous nodes. However, the company remains confident in its ability to regain the process leadership crown from TSMC with its 18A node. Additionally, Intel is not just focusing on its own chips; it is also opening up its manufacturing facilities to external partners. The company aims to become the world’s second-largest foundry by 2030, behind only TSMC.
Intel has secured partnerships with various companies, including Microsoft, Ericsson, Cadence, Keysight, Lorentz, and Siemens. The collaboration with Arm under the “Emerging Business Initiative” holds significant potential for Intel. Furthermore, discussions with industry giants like Qualcomm, Broadcom, Nvidia, and Apple could potentially reshape the semiconductor industry.
Despite facing stiff competition from companies like AMD in the server CPU space and challenges in riding the AI wave, Intel’s aggressive roadmap and foundry strategy set the stage for a promising second half of the decade. By continuing to innovate and collaborate with industry partners, Intel is positioning itself for success in the evolving semiconductor landscape.
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