Intel's 18A-P Chip Node Enters Risk Production, Edging Toward an Apple Deal
Intel said its enhanced 18A-P process node has entered risk production, a manufacturing milestone the company hopes will win marquee foundry customers — with a preliminary Apple deal still in focus.
Intel Foundry Details Process Milestones and Future Innovation at VLSI Symposium
Intel begins production of most-advanced chip, inching closer to possible Apple deal
Intel's performance-enhanced 18A-P process enters risk production
Intel's 18A-P Enters Risk Stage Production
Intel Stock Gains As 18A-P Semiconductor Node Enters Risk Production
A long-awaited proof point for Intel Foundry
Intel said its 18A-P process — the first performance upgrade in the 18A family — has entered "risk production," an early, low-volume manufacturing stage that signals the node is on track to meet customer requirements before full qualification.newsroom +1 The company unveiled the milestone Tuesday at the 2026 VLSI Symposium in Honolulu, keeping to a timeline it first shared with customers and partners last year.newsroom After years of yield problems that kept outside chipmakers away, Intel has pitched 18A and its enhanced sibling as the technology that finally turns the company into a credible contract manufacturer.cnbc
Faster, cooler, and a drop-in upgrade
Intel said 18A-P delivers 9% higher performance at the same power, or 18% lower power at the same performance, compared with the standard 18A node it has been making in Arizona since December.newsroom +1 The revision also improves thermal resistance by 20% to 40% and via resistance by 10% to 30%, and it introduces a dual-contact transistor option Intel calls Power Boost to push more drive current through each switch.newsroom +1 Crucially, 18A-P is fully design-rule compatible with 18A, meaning customers can reuse existing intellectual property and design flows without reworking their chips.newsroom +1 That backward compatibility is what makes analysts view 18A-P, rather than 18A itself, as the more likely node to win a marquee external customer.cnbc
The Apple question still hangs over the foundry
Wall Street has bet heavily on the turnaround, sending Intel shares up more than 200% this year after a 10% U.S. government stake in August and a $5 billion Nvidia investment in September.cnbc The stock rose again on the 18A-P news, trading up about 4% premarket near $122.benzinga The biggest prize remains a preliminary agreement, reported in May, for Intel to make some chips for Apple devices.cnbc Analysts caution that Apple is likely to wait for 18A-P, and that a deeper obstacle remains: Intel built its expertise on x86 designs, while Apple, Google and Amazon use rival Arm architecture that TSMC has long mastered.cnbc CEO Lip-Bu Tan has said he expects commitments from multiple foundry customers in the second half of 2026, as surging AI compute demand fuels Intel's manufacturing comeback.cnbc +1
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Intel Foundry Details Process Milestones and Future Innovation at VLSI Symposium
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Intel begins production of most-advanced chip, inching closer to possible Apple deal
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Intel's performance-enhanced 18A-P process enters risk production
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Intel's 18A-P Enters Risk Stage Production
benzinga
Intel Stock Gains As 18A-P Semiconductor Node Enters Risk Production