At the Intel Vision conference in Las Vegas, the company announced the Panther Lake processor, which will combine the best features of the previous generations of Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake – energy efficiency and performance, and will also be the first product on a new manufacturing process.
Image Source: Intel
Panther Lake won’t just be another new addition to the processor lineup. It will be the first chip to be released using the company’s advanced 18A process technology. This technological step, as PCWorld writes, was laid down under the previous head of the company, Pat Gelsinger, who set a goal of implementing five technological nodes in four years. Although Gelsinger has stepped down, achieving this goal will be part of his legacy.
Jim Johnson, senior vice president of Intel’s client business, emphasized that Panther Lake combines the power efficiency of Lunar Lake with the performance of Arrow Lake. “I’m personally excited about Panther Lake because it combines the best of our past architectures, is designed for scalable 18A, and is ready for release later this year,” he said. The company is currently in pilot production with 18A and is scaling up production for full volume production.
Image source: Mark Hachman / IDG
Technical details of Panther Lake will likely be revealed closer to Computex in late May, and Intel will release its next flagship chip, Nova Lake, in 2026, the company’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a letter to shareholders.
It is worth noting that Intel is actively investing in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), attracting developers to its platform. As part of this direction, the company launched AI Showcase – a showcase of applications with solutions optimized for its processors. A new AI Playground application was also presented, which will allow users to launch AI models and create works of art with them directly on their PCs.
As for Intel’s priorities for 2025, the company outlined three areas, two of which concern the implementation of artificial intelligence in consumer computers, workstations, and cars. The third task is related to the further development of AI infrastructure, ensuring compatibility of hardware and software, reducing energy consumption and cost for future generations of its products.