Intel’s relatively new Foundry division – formerly known as Intel Foundry Services until today – has received a notable order from a big name. according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that his company will use Intel’s latest 18A (1.8nm) manufacturing process for future internal chip designs. But given Intel’s process roadmap, it’s likely we won’t see Microsoft’s new chip until 2025.
While neither company has disclosed the nature of the silicon in question, Microsoft has introduced a special order of it Azure Maia AI accelerator and Azure Cobalt 100 CPU Server chips last November, with an expected launch sometime this year “early” to bolster itself AI services. The Cobalt 100 is based on the Arm architecture, and it happens to be Intel optimization Since April last year, the 18A process for Arm designs (even one Arm the investor more later), so there’s a good chance that this collaboration could lead to a new generation of Cobalt CPUs.
In addition to the usual efficiency improvements as the node size decreases, the Intel 18A also offers “the industry’s first back-end power solution,” according to IEEE. Spectrum, separates the power interconnect layer from the data interconnect layer above and transfers the former to the bottom of the silicon substrate, as the name suggests. Apparently, this allows for improved voltage regulation and lower resistance, which in turn allows for faster logic and lower power consumption, especially when applied to 3D stacking.
On Intel’s Q4 earnings call, CEO Pat Gelsinger confirmed “The 18A is expected to reach production readiness in 24H.” Given that Intel’s own 18A-based processors — “Clearwater Forest” for servers and “Panther Lake” for clients — won’t arrive until 2025, it’s likely that Microsoft’s next chip will have a similar timeframe.
At Intel’s event earlier today, an executive shared the expanded Intel Foundry process technology roadmap, which introduces a new 14A (1.4nm) node. ASML’s “High NA EUV” (high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet) lithography system. according to AnandTechthis 14A jump could help Intel catch up to it after its late EUV adoption Intel 4 (7nm) node, although risk production won’t take place until late 2026.
Intel Foundry is Gelsinger’s brainchild has been activated that department soon after he assumed the role of CEO in February 2021, as part of an ambitious plan to pit Intel against the likes of TSMC and Samsung in the contract chip manufacturing market. Before Microsoft, Intel Foundry’s client list already included MediaTek, Qualcomm and Amazon. The company still sets a goal To become the “second largest foreign foundry by 2030” in terms of production revenue, he said earlier this year.
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