AMD, NVIDIA, and Broadcom Are Warming Up to Intel’s 18A Manufacturing Process, It’s Claimed

The FPS Review may receive a commission if you purchase something after clicking a link in this article.

Image: Intel

Some of NVIDIA and Broadcom’s future chips may be fabricated on Intel’s 18A manufacturing process despite the company’s recent troubles, which are said to include contract manufacturing business delays to mid-2026 and low revenue expectations until at least 2027, according to a new report from Reuters.

Per the publication’s sources, which also claim Ryzen, Radeon, and EPYC maker AMD is also looking into the viability of Intel 18A for its designs:

Chip designers Nvidia and Broadcom are running manufacturing tests with Intel…the companies are moving closer to determining whether they will commit hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of manufacturing contracts to Intel.

Advanced Micro Devices is also evaluating whether Intel’s 18A manufacturing process is suitable for its needs but it was unclear if it had sent test chips through the factory.

“We don’t comment on specific customers but continue to see strong interest and engagement on Intel 18A across our ecosystem,” an Intel spokesperson reportedly said, although AMD, nor NVIDIA and Broadcom, had any comments to share at this time.

Reuters goes on to suggest that this could turn out to be nothing despite Intel’s optimism, however:

Last year, Reuters reported that a batch of Broadcom tests disappointed its executives and engineers. At the time, Broadcom said it was continuing to review Intel’s foundry.

“The latest advancement in Intel Foundry process technology, featuring RibbonFET and industry-first PowerVia backside-power delivery, empowering customers to create breakthrough designs,” reads a description for Intel’s 18A process node, which the company says is now ready with various improvements, including “up to 15% better performance per watt and 30% better chip density vs. the Intel 3 process node.”

“As transistor density increases, mixed signal and power routing create congestion that can degrade performance,” Intel explains. “Intel Foundry’s industry-first PowerVia technology relocates course pitch metals and bumps to the back side of the die and embeds nano-scale through-silicon vias (nano-TSVs) in every standard cell for efficient power distribution.”

Source

Join the discussion in our forums...

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

Recent News