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Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to reviving its foundry business, and new plans regarding advanced node production have recently been unveiled. According to a report from Liberty Times, citing eeNews Europe, Intel is shifting high-volume production of 3nm chips to its Fab 34 facility in Ireland later in 2025, as noted by its 2024 annual report.
The report notes that one of the significant issues in the semiconductor supply chain is Europe’s lack of advanced process technology. Therefore, as the report highlights, the availability of the Intel 3 process through Intel Foundry Services could offer a critical advantage for the company as it strives to recover.
Intel’s Fab 34 in Leixlip, Ireland, is a key part of its expansion plans. According to Intel’s press release from June 2024, the company has sold a 49% stake in the facility to an equity fund managed by Apollo, as it seeks outside investment to support its growth.
Despite Intel’s expansion plans in Ireland, the report underscores that its fabs planned for Magdeburg, Germany, and Poland are still on hold.
Intel 3: The Company’s 3nm Node
As noted by Intel, Intel 3 is the company’s second node to use EUV lithography, offering enhanced logic scaling and up to an 18% improvement in performance-per-watt compared to Intel 4. According to Intel’s annual report, its Xeon 6 Scalable server processors are built using this technology. This process is available to external foundry customers and is tailored to meet the demands of data center products
Intel 3 was in high-volume manufacturing in Oregon during 2024, as highlighted in its annual report.
Currently, as indicated by eeNews Europe, Intel is offering its Intel 4, Intel 3, and 18A nodes to foundry customers, along with its mature 7nm and 16nm process technologies. The report also notes that the company is collaborating with UMC on 12nm process.
Intel’s Future Plans for Advanced Node Development
In its annual report, Intel states that it expects to begin high-volume manufacturing of Panther Lake—its first product built on Intel 18A—in 2025. Meanwhile, according to TechPowerUp, citing Intel engineering manager Pankaj Marria, initial 18A wafers have already begun rolling out from the company’s Arizona facility.
Notably, NVIDIA and Broadcom, the world’s two top AI chip firms, are reportedly eyeing Intel’s 18A process, according to Tom’s Hardware, citing guru.
Furthermore, the company is actively advancing development of Intel 14A, its third advanced process technology available to external customers. As highlighted in its annual report, Intel 14A will offer further improvements in performance-per-watt and density scaling compared to Intel 18A.
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(Photo credit: Intel)
