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TheTechno Optimist.

Intel 18AIntel—

Intel

PC and server CPUs, Intel Foundry, 18A, 14A

USpublic~108,900 staffest. 1968intel.com (opens intel.com)Checked 25 Sep

The brief

Analyst view
  • Panther Lake, the first 18A chip, launched in January 2026 from Fab 52 in Arizona.
  • US government took about 9.9% in Aug 2025. NVIDIA ($5B) and SoftBank ($2B) also invested.
  • Lip-Bu Tan became CEO in March 2025 and cut costs and jobs sharply.

Technical approach

As reported
RibbonFET

Gate-all-around transistors

RibbonFET stacks 4 silicon ribbons wrapped by the gate. Intel's first new transistor design since 2011.

PowerVia

Backside power delivery

Power wires go on the back of the wafer, freeing the front for signals. Intel shipped this before TSMC.

High-NA

First to High-NA EUV

Intel took the first High-NA EUV machines for its 14A node, betting on fewer printing steps.

Packaging

Foveros and EMIB

3D stacking (Foveros) and bridges (EMIB) combine chip pieces made on different processes.

Programs

Intel, three programs

Updated 1 Jan 2026
Intel 18AIntel's 1.8 nm-class node. It combines gate-all-around transistors with power wiring on the back of the chip.ScalingNextClearwater Forest Xeon 6+ ramp · 2026Updated 1 Jan 2026View program →Intel 14AIntel's node after 18A and the first planned to use High-NA EUV machines in production.ResearchNextRisk production · 2027Updated 1 Jul 2025View program →Silicon spin qubitsIntel makes qubits where a single electron's spin stores information, on the same 300 mm lines used for normal chips. Tunnel Falls (2023) has 12 qubits.ResearchUpdated 1 Oct 2022View program →
Research · Proto · Pilot · Deploy · Scaling

Research & demos

2 items
  • Jun 2023
    paperPowerVia backside power test chip (VLSI Symposium 2023)Intel 18A

    First demo of back-side power wiring on a realistic test chip.

  • Jun 2023
    demoTunnel Falls 12-qubit silicon spin chipSilicon spin qubits

    Showed quantum bits made on the same 300 mm lines as normal transistors.

Open technical problems

Open · Active · Partial
  • Winning foundry customersOpen

    Intel Foundry needs big outside customers for 14A and says it could skip 14A without them.

  • Yield and cost at 18AActive research

    18A yields improved in 2025, but profits depend on reaching mature yields fast.

Peers

Chip factories (foundries) · 1

Company & funding

3 rounds · as reported
Raised
$7Bdisclosed private rounds
Last round
Strategic investmentSep 2025
Staff
~108,900as of 2024
HQ
US
Founded
1968
DateRoundAmountPost-moneyLead
Sep 2025Strategic investment$5B—NVIDIA
Aug 2025Strategic investment$2B—SoftBank
Aug 2025US government equity stake$8.9B—US Government

Partners & customers

2 investors · 1 supplier · 2 customers

People

Key people
Primer