Intel’s Chipmaking Future Hangs in the Balance as 14A Process Faces Uncertainty

Intel may exit next-generation chip manufacturing if it fails to secure a major external customer for its 14A process. The company warned of "significant material impairments" tied to its $100 billion in chipmaking equipment should the project collapse.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over in March after Pat Gelsinger's ouster, stated Intel will proceed with 14A only if external commitments materialize. "We will build what our customers need, when they need it," Tan emphasized in a memo accompanying Q2 earnings. Without these commitments, Intel may cancel or pause 14A development entirely.

The 14A process is critical to Intel's ambition of becoming a competitive foundry player. If abandoned, the company WOULD increasingly rely on TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, for future manufacturing needs.