If this report is even close to being true, Intel could be on the cusp of a whole new and incredibly lucrative era for the company. It's claimed that pretty much all of the biggest players in US chip tech including Amazon, Apple, AMD, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia and Qualcomm are evaluating Intel's upcoming 14A node.
The report comes from investment bank Piper Sandler (via WCCFTech). "Foundry 14A datapoints bode well, awaiting anchor customer. All the big US customers (i.e. Amazon, Apple, AMD, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, NVDA, QCOM etc are evaluating Intel's 14A process, given: 1) technical datapoints trending better than expected. 2) Industry looking for alternative foundry / packaging suppliers to TSMC, given TSMC is sold-out through 2028. 3) On-shoring trends given political pressure.
"In late 2026 and early 2027, Intel needs to convert these to anchor foundry customer wins ahead of a 2028 ramp-up. We see the $20B share offering last month as an indicator of confidence in landing anchor customers.
"This should help fund the tooling cost of a 14A fab (20k wpm) which costs ~$10B. We note Fab-62 shell is almost completed, but still needs to be equipped," the Piper Sandler note said.
Aside from confirmation that one of the big drivers in all this is the desire to bring as much chip production back to the US as possible, another important tidbit is the $20 billion share offering. As Piper Sandler says, that should help towards funding a new generation of 14A fabs.
Moreover, Intel's CEO, Lip Bu Tan has previously made explicit that a firm indicator that the company has serious interest in its new 14A technology will be when the company starts spending on building out fabs.
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