Intel’s Panther Lake chip uses new 18A manufacturing process
Intel aims to reassure itself with technical briefings and factory tour
Intel expects Panther Lake to use 30% less power than previous generation
San Francisco, October 7 (Reuters) – Intel (intc.o)open a new tab Plans to release technical details about its next chip for laptops, known as Panther Lake, on Thursday, four sources briefed the plans to Reuters. It is part of an effort to reassure investors about Intel’s first product made entirely of its next-generation manufacturing process called 18A, according to the sources.
The Panther Lake chips are the company’s high-end mobile processors that are typically included in more expensive laptops and are the first high-volume Intel products to use the 18A process that the company has spent billions of dollars on. Partly because of hardware manufacturing, Intel has steadily ceded laptop and PC market share to compete with advanced microdevices (AMD.O)open a new tab. Panther Lake represents an opportunity to reverse some of the losses.
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The company conducted hours of technical briefings and factory tours in Arizona for industry analysts last week on the New Panther Lake microarchitecture, including detailed explanations of the graphics and central processor cores and its media engine, according to the sources. Intel revealed a redesigned AI engine and the company’s efficiency and performance processor cores, which have been redesigned for the 18A manufacturing process.
The latest generation laptop chip called Lunar Lake was mainly manufactured by Intel Rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (2330.TW)open a new tab.
Intel executives said the Panther Lake chips will be available in early 2026, according to the sources. The new chips use 30% less power than the previous generation, and its graphics and central processors will receive a 50% increase in their ability to crunch data in certain situations, according to a second source briefed on the chips.
Technical briefings conducted last week for a group of analysts and journalists highlighted the importance of Panther Lake’s success to Intel, which has struggled to make the cutting-edge chips.
An Intel spokesperson said the company holds technical briefings in the fall most years on various topics, but declined to comment further.
In July, the chipmaker reported a second-quarter loss of $2.9 billion and revealed that if it did not secure a customer for its planned future 14A manufacturing process, it would suspend work. After US President Donald Trump called for the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan in August, Intel attracted investment from Softbank Group (9984.T)open a new tab and nvidia (nvda.o)open a new tab.
After Tan met with Trump and other White House officials, the administration struck a deal to turn a CHIP Act grant into a 9.9% stake in the company.
Last week, as part of the briefings, Intel held a tour for journalists and industry analysts of its factories in Arizona, including one called Fab 52, the People said. Intel launched FAB 52 in 2021 as part of former CEO Pat Gelsinger’s multibillion-dollar global expansion plan to compete with TSMC in the contract manufacturing sector.
Fab 52 houses Intel’s in-house 18A manufacturing process, which includes a new transistor design and method of delivering power to the chip more efficiently. The visit was intended to demonstrate Intel’s manufacturing prowess and show off the chip factory, or FAB, that it will use for high-volume manufacturing of Panther Lake chips. Reuters did not attend this tour.
Intel executives did not discuss current Panther Lake yields, or how many good chips Intel is capable of producing, according to the people. Reuters reported in August that over the summer, Panther Lake’s yield was about 10 percent, up from 5 percent at the end of last year.
Reporting by Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis
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Max A. Cherney is a correspondent for Reuters based in San Francisco, where he reports on the semiconductor industry and artificial intelligence. He joined Reuters in 2023 and previously worked for Barron’s Magazine and its sister publication, Marketwatch. Cherney graduated from Trent University with a degree in history.
