Intel Chips Away At Chip Manufacturing!

As the dependencies on semiconductors increase and chip manufacturers gain more prominence, the competition in the market is heating up.

With NVIDIA making big strides in GenAI, automotive and quantum computing chip manufacturing, other chip manufacturers are finding the need to keep up with their own moves.

One such move was recently made by industry giant, Intel, as the company looks to not just keep up with competitors but also overtake them.

So, what moves is Intel making? Let’s explore!
 

What Did Intel Announce?

 

• Recently, Intel conducted its first foundry event, Intel Foundry Direct Connect, which was attended by customers, ecosystem companies and leaders of the industry. 

• The event was followed by a press release by Intel.

• Participants included Gina Raimondo (US Secretary of Commerce), Rene Haas (CEO of Arm), Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) and others.

• Intel also conveyed its ecosystem partners included Arm, Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens and Ansys, while signing Microsoft as a foundry customer.

• Through the event, Intel announced new customers for its foundry businesses, with an expanded process roadmap.

• Ahead of this, Intel also mentioned its intention to compete with industry giant TSMC in the semiconductor market, as the company looks to regain the title of making the world’s fastest chips.

• As per Intel, this will be done using what the company calls Intel 18A manufacturing technology, which will be followed by its new 14A technology. Additionally, Intel highlighted plans for its Intel 3 and Mature Nodes technology.

• Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, said, “AI is profoundly transforming the world and how we think about technology and the silicon that powers it ... This is creating an unprecedented opportunity for the world’s most innovative chip designers and for Intel Foundry, the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era. Together, we can create new markets and revolutionize how the world uses technology to improve people’s lives.”

• Speaking at Intel’s Foundry event, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, said, “We are in the midst of a very exciting platform shift that will fundamentally transform productivity for every individual organization and the entire industry.”

• [Contd.] “To achieve this vision, we need a reliable supply of the most advanced, high-performance and high-quality semiconductors. That’s why we are so excited to work with Intel Foundry, and why we have chosen a chip design that we plan to produce on Intel 18A process.”

• Ahead of this, Pat Gelsinger conveyed Intel’s endeavors in this direction through an interview.

 

What Did Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger Say?

 

• In an interview, Gelsinger spoke about the company’s foundry plans, future moves and its present efforts being made. Gelsinger said, “This is a key moment in the progression at the Intel foundry. We view the opportunity to position what we call the Intel Systems Foundry. 

• [Contd.] “A systems foundry, we believe, is a significant move from just being a wafer provider, to delivering a whole range of technologies – wafers, packaging, systems and software capability. With the surge of AI we see that the capabilities that Intel brings to the table are significantly greater than just the wafer foundry as that category has been defined today.”

• [Contd.] “Also, the process technology is making major steps forward, delivering on our five nodes in four years road map. But also, for the first time, we’ll be laying out what’s next, laying out the broadening of the portfolio of capabilities. With that will be what’s beyond 18A. We’ll be describing the next nodes after that.”

 

What Else Was Said About Intel?

 

• According to sources familiar with the matter, the US government is in talks to award over $10 billion in subsidies to Intel, which could involve loans and direct grants.

• Negotiations for the same are underway.

• The move comes as the government looks to subsidize chip production and related supply chain investments with a $39 billion program aimed at helping build factories and increase production.

• However, both Intel and the US Department of Commerce (the organization overseeing the disbursement of CHIPS Act funds) didn’t provide a comment.

Do you think Intel can chip away at its competitors’ market share with these announcements and moves?

Let us know in the comments below!