Intel’s contract manufacturing business hit a snag with reports that its advanced 18A manufacturing process isn’t ready for high-volume production.
Reuters cited three unnamed sources in a report detailing chipmaker Broadcom’s tests of Intel’s 18A, all of which apparently failed. Broadcom’s test saw it send foot-wide silicon wafers to Intel to go through the 18A process. Once Broadcom received the printed wafers back, its engineers and executives began evaluating the wagers and found the process wasn’t ready to move to high-volume production.
However, a Broadcom spokesperson told Reuters that it hasn’t concluded the evaluation of Intel Foundry yet.
Moreover, an Intel spokesperson told Reuters that “18A is powered on, healthy and yielding well, and we remain fully on track to begin high volume manufacturing next year.”
Intel launched its contract manufacturing in 2021 as part of its turnaround strategy, but so far the company has been struggling. Intel laid off over 15,000 workers earlier this year after reporting $1.6 billion USD in losses in Q2, with reports saying Gelsinger has plans for more cost-cutting measures. Meanwhile, Intel has been grappling with stability issues plaguing its 13th and 14th gen CPUs.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
