[News] Intel’s Panther Lake Mass Production Reportedly Slips to 4Q25: More 18A Hurdles Ahead?

Intel is betting on 18A for a turnaround, as it reportedly works with clients like Broadcom and NVIDIA on test chips. However, industry speculation suggests further delays, with Panther Lake possibly missing mass production until Q4 2025, according to Wccftech. Here’s a quick round-up at the potential reasons for the alleged postponement and challenges ahead for the struggling giant.

Is Yield the Only Issue?

Wccftech reported in late February that Intel’s 18A yields are between 20% and 30%, potentially delaying Panther Lake. Technews, citing analysts, adds that supply chain sources now expect mass production of the processor to be pushed to mid-Q4, 2025, rather than the initially planned September.

According to a previous report from Tom’s Hardware, Intel announced at CES 2025 that Panther Lake, its first in-house processor to use the 18A node, is set to debut in the second half of 2025. This means the delay may still align with the company’s planned timeline.

Meanwhile, Reuters takes a more cautious view on Intel’s 18A progress, stating that the node was already delayed to 2026 for contract manufacturing customers and may now face another six-month delay. The report attributes this setback to the longer-than-expected time required to qualify essential intellectual property for the 18A process.

Notably, the Reuters report indicates that without the qualified intellectual property that small and mid-sized chip designers depend on, many potential customers won’t be able to produce chips on 18A until at least mid-2026.

Challenges ahead

The deferred schedule may cast a cloud over Intel’s claim that 18A is ready for customer projects, with tape-outs set for the first half of 2025. If Team Blue fails to meet the late 2025 mass production deadline, it may miss the opportunity to capture more customer orders from TSMC’s 2nm node.

According to TSMC’s roadmap, its 2nm (N2) process is on track for mass production in the second half of 2025, with large-scale production planned for 2026.

On the other hand, the Technews report also notes that this delay could push Panther Lake laptop adoption to 2026, causing Intel to miss the 2025 sales peak and risk downward revisions to its second-half 2025 revenue and profit.

Meanwhile, Intel will likely struggle to gain the trust of external IC design customers until it successfully ships its own 18A-manufactured chips.

Intel’s Principal Engineering Program Manager, Joseph Bonetti, argued in a now-deleted LinkedIn post that Intel Foundry is set to prove itself with its own products, while both Microsoft and Amazon are reportedly early adopters of 18A.

Read more

• [News] NVIDIA and Broadcom Reportedly Test Intel’s 18A as AMD Also Eyes Potential Deal
• [News] Intel Principal Engineer Calls TSMC Deal Mistake, Argues 18A More Advanced with Early Adopters Secured

(Photo credit: Intel)