Intel’s recent quarterly report showed that contract manufacturing services for third-party customers account for less than one percent of its total revenue, but that could change this year. In any case, some sources claim that Intel has already signed a contract with Microsoft to manufacture chips for it using 18A technology.
Image Source: Intel
This was reported by the South Korean publication Chosun Daily, citing informed sources. Intel intends to establish stable production of chips using 18A technology in mass quantities by the end of the second half of the year, and therefore is already capable of concluding long-term contracts with potential clients. As noted, Microsoft Corporation, which develops its own processors for use in data centers, has already joined their ranks, and Google Corporation may join it in the future. Moreover, even Nvidia is mentioned as a potential client of Intel in this area; negotiations between the companies are already underway.
The appointment of Lip-Bu Tan, who has extensive experience at Cadence Design Systems, as CEO of Intel, according to some experts, was intended to strengthen the company’s ties with potential customers in the contract area. It is possible that progress in this area has finally improved, and now Intel faces the most important task of justifying the trust of its customers. In addition to Intel’s expected progress in the field of lithography, geopolitical factors such as “import substitution” and the growth of customs tariffs also speak in favor of strengthening cooperation with American chip developers. Intel will manufacture its chips using 18A technology in the United States, and for many potential customers this will be a decisive factor in choosing a contractor.