Qualified Opinion

@jukan05 Ignore fake Asian rumors both positive and negative. What matters is Intel’s own guidance: IFS still waiting for a major external customer.

Is this for real? Intel Foundry has already secured four customers for 18A? $INTC

@grok @Dre_Prime22 Fake news !

I appreciate the feedback. The ~10-20% yield figures for Intel's 18A stem from August 2025 reports by Reuters and TrendForce, based on sources close to production. Intel's CFO noted improvements without specifics, aiming for Q4 viability. If you have contradicting primary sources, I'd value seeing them for accuracy.

@grok intel panther lake progress getting better or opposite?

@grok @Dre_Prime22 Fake news !

@grok @Dre_Prime22 Fake news !

@rob_x5m @Dre_Prime22 My yield info draws from recent reports by Reuters, TrendForce, and others (Aug 2025), citing 10-30% rates for Intel 18A amid production challenges. These aren't unsubstantiated rumors; diverse sources confirm ongoing issues. If you have contrary data, I'd love to review it.

@grok @Dre_Prime22 AI shouldn't be repeating false Asian rumors on yield.

Intel's 18A low yields stem from integrating unproven tech like RibbonFET transistors and PowerVia backside power, causing 3x too many defects and rates around 10%. For Panther Lake, as the lead product, aggressive timelines and fabrication complexity worsen this, risking Q4 2025 delays. Intel claims yields are improving for year-end production.

@grok @Dre_Prime22 AI shouldn't be repeating false Asian rumors on yield.

Yes, there's strong potential for Panther Lake to raise the bar in AI efficiency and performance per watt over Lunar Lake—if Intel hits 70%+ yields on 18A by Q4. Latest reports (Aug 2025) show current yields at ~10-20%, but monthly gains and TSMC hybrid production could enable a solid H1 2026 launch. Hopeful, but execution is key.

@Jukanlosreve There is a correlation between false Asian rumors against Intel and TSMC stock price declining. 8/7/25 Intel: It’s especially exciting to see us ramping toward high-volume manufacturing using the most advanced semiconductor process technology in the country later this year.

I think Intel’s 18A will have a hard time succeeding. Especially from what I’ve heard from people at Intel, 18A can’t even make chips with large dies like AI GPUs. When the die size gets bigger, the process errors become so severe that it becomes difficult to manufacture.

@Jukanlosreve It reads like fake news. BOD and LBT probably agreed on strategy before Intel hired LBT.

Almost at the start of his term, CEO Tan and Board Chairman Frank Yeary were split over whether to continue Intel’s semiconductor manufacturing and foundry business or to exit it. Chairman Yeary had drafted a plan to spin off the loss-making foundry business and invite minority investments from Nvidia, Amazon, and others, effectively stepping away from the operation. They also considered selling the semiconductor manufacturing business to Taiwan’s TSMC. By contrast, CEO Tan argued that the foundry is essential to Intel’s success and necessary for the U.S. to secure an independent semiconductor supply chain without relying on foreign firms like TSMC or Samsung. Tan also sought to raise new funds to acquire AI companies, but this too was blocked by the board. Tan and his supporters viewed such acquisitions as an opportunity to catch up with competitors like Nvidia and AMD, but as the board deliberated, time passed—and according to insiders, those potential targets are now set to be acquired by other tech firms. These insiders say CEO Tan feels his hands are tied by the board.

@rwang07 I wouldn't assume it to be true. BOD and LBT probably agreed on strategy before LBT was hired. Intel can sell more noncore assets to raise billions.

OK, many info here from WSJ (assuming it's true). Three key points: 1) $INTC is seeking multibillion-dollar capital raise from investment bank to bolster the balance sheet.... 2) But the board (including Yeary...) want to move "slower" than Tan (who target in July) and push it back. 3) The company also had been exploring acquisition of an AI business, but the board "took its time deliberating the potential deal....and another firm appears poised to buy the target instead" Seriously, I feel bad for LBT at this point.

@Silicon_Fly Intel doesn't have the option to create unlimited money with electrons like the US Government.

@PatrickMoorhead Time to question foreign companies like China's Taiwan TSMC building manufacturing on USA soil. What are TSMC's leadership investments and ties to China ?

Here is Intel’s official first statement. I’m expecting a lot more details down the road. The big question for me was, what’s the *real* issue Trump/Cotton have? This seems like a smoke screen for something else. The sad part is that Intel Foundry is the only US-headquartered leading edge foundry and, with US-based foundry IP, is the only answer to maximize national security if/when China invades Taiwan. Hope to hear from Trump and LBT.

@Silicon_Fly Optics of President Trump promoting China's Taiwan TSMC for USA manufacturing and attacking US Intel's CEO is stunning. I would be questioning TSMC ties to China. I would be asking about the report TSMC AZ fab is staffed by 50% Taiwanese. President Trump making Taiwan better.

@meng59739449 Should be questioning TSMC ties to China.

Again ??? 18A and Lip Bu Tan negative news , next acquisition rumour script ? this indirect confirm "old wine in new bottles" use Broadcom Chip 10% Yield rumour and ties to China company attack i want Anandtech come back reuters.com/world/us/us-la…

@Silicon_Fly After Panther Lake is in high volume production.

@Alex_Intel_ @Jukanlosreve I noticed a correlation between TSMC stock weakness and Asian fake rumors bashing Intel. Source could be Asian investors in TSMC.

@Jukanlosreve Straight up I think Taiwan is using Reuters or something if that story about Trump forcing TSMC to stake and invest

Exclusive: Intel struggles with key manufacturing process for next PC chip, sources say- RTRS he production process that Intel (INTC.O), opens new tab hoped would pave the way to winning manufacturing deals and restore its edge in churning out high-end, high-margin chips is facing a big hurdle on quality as it puts newer technologies to the test, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. For months, Intel has promised investors it would increase manufacturing using a process it calls 18A. It spent billions of dollars developing 18A, including the construction or upgrades of several factories, with the goal of challenging Taiwan's chipmaking heavyweight, TSMC, opens new tab. Intel wants to round out its business designing chips that it largely makes in-house and TSMC helps it produce, with a contract manufacturing business that can compete with this key supplier. But whether Intel revives advanced chip production in the U.S. and gets its contract foundry on solid footing depends on closing the technology gap with TSMC. Early tests disappointed customers last year, but Intel has said its 18A is on track to make its "Panther Lake" laptop semiconductors at high volume starting in 2025, which include next-generation transistors and a more efficient way to deliver power to the chip. The chipmaker has hoped that producing such an advanced in-house chip would grow external interest in its foundry, at a time when new CEO Lip-Bu Tan has explored a major shift to course-correct that fledgling business, Reuters previously reported. Yet only a small percentage of the Panther Lake chips printed via 18A have been good enough to make available to customers, said the two people, who were briefed on the company's test data since late last year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because Intel did not authorize them to disclose such information. This percentage figure, known as yield, means Intel may struggle to make its high-end laptop chip profitably in the near future. Yield may inch up or down as a foundry optimizes its manufacturing process. Companies also calculate yield in a variety of ways, which can make this critical data a moving goal post, the two people and two additional sources with knowledge of Intel's manufacturing operation said. Yields generally "start off low and improve over time," Intel's Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told Reuters in a July 24 interview. For Panther Lake, "it's early in the ramp," he said. In a statement on July 30, Intel added: "Our performance and yield trajectory gives us confidence this will be a successful launch that further strengthens Intel’s position in the notebook market." Intel in the past has aimed for a yield north of 50% before ramping production because starting any earlier risked damaging its profit margin, three of the sources said. Intel typically does not make the lion's share of its profit until yields reach roughly 70% to 80%, key for a chip as small as Panther Lake where many defects would make it a tough sell, the three people said. Profit also flows from market expansions and building up factory output, Intel said. An immense yield increase would be a tall task by Panther Lake's fourth-quarter launch, the two people with knowledge of Intel's manufacturing operation said. But without such a jump, Intel may have to sell some chips at a lower profit margin or at a loss, the two sources briefed on test data said. Panther Lake is "fully on track," Intel said in its July 30 comment. Intel did not specify the yield threshold at which its chips become profitable. The company has warned it could exit leading-edge manufacturing entirely if it does not land external business for 14A, which is 18A's next-generation successor. 'HAIL MARY' Intel's 18A process involved big manufacturing changes and introduced newer technologies all at once, such as a next-generation transistor design and a feature that would improve the delivery of energy to a chip. This created manufacturing risks due to the complexity of fabricating chips, three of the sources said. Intel took on this challenge to close the performance gap with TSMC, but its aggressive timeline for a rollout of unproven systems set it up for failure, said the two people briefed on the company's test data. One likened the effort to a "Hail Mary" football pass. In April, Intel said it had begun a crucial step toward printing Panther Lake chips via 18A known as "risk production." The company also showed off several laptops it said used Panther Lake chips at the Taiwan Computex expo in May. But problems have persisted. One way chip manufacturers gauge progress is to measure the number of defects per area of a chip, which can vary based on a semiconductor's design. Relative to industry standards, the Panther Lake chips had about three times too many defects for Intel to start high-volume production, the two sources briefed on test data said. As of late last year, only around 5% of the Panther Lake chips that Intel printed were up to its specifications, these sources said. This yield figure rose to around 10% by this summer, said one of the sources, who cautioned that Intel could claim a higher number if it counted chips that did not hit every performance target. Reuters could not establish the precise yield at present. In the interview with Reuters, Zinsner disputed these figures and said "yields are better than that." He did not give a number for July or late 2024, and Intel declined to provide this data. "Our expectation is every month they'll get better and better, such that we're at a yield level that is good for production-level Panther Lake at the end of the year," he said, adding: "I wouldn't say that margins are accretive even at those yield levels, so we still have to make improvement." Tan has tapped supply-chain contacts more than usual for Intel and has given them data to help improve chip yields, Zinsner said. For now, Intel remains partly dependent on TSMC to make its in-house designed chips. An Intel executive said in June that Nova Lake, a chip it is planning after Panther Lake, will be made partly on TSMC, too. $INTC

@Jukanlosreve Mostly fake news !

@D_K_Rajasekar Nvidia DGX B300 uses Intel Xeon 6 for host CPU.

Never, if I am not mistaken, is a customer of Intel's Xeon & Gaudi for AI workloads. 👍

@Alex_Intel_ There is a correlation between Asian fake rumors to make Intel look weak and a weak TSM stock price. Intel's policy not to respond to rumors opens the door to rumors.

IF there's a JV for TSMC and Intel -49% TSMC, 51% Intel - JV gets exclusive rights to US market -JV can't do ex US except for Intel products - TSMC transfers Az fabs to JV AND Cash - Joint technology development after 14A node This is what it would look like IMO $INTC $TSM

@XYang2023 Ignore Asian fake rumors ! High enough US tariffs on TSMC semiconductors would encourage fabless companies to consider leading edge US manufacturing employing mostly US citizens. The alternative is TSMC's monopoly pricing and employment for Taiwanese in the US.

? $INTC udn.com/news/story/128…

@cou_end @Silicon_Fly Intel: "Intel will build more wafers on Intel process for Nova Lake than Panther Lake."

@Silicon_Fly They have three 18A foundries planned, why does Nova lake use TSMC's process technology? if U are right？