Earlier this month, we reported that there was a possibility that Intel would only use its 18A process to build products for itself, and that the 14A process would be used to compete with TSMC and Samsung’s chip production processes.
During a meeting with stakeholders this week, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said that the development and use of Intel’s 14A process may have to be stopped if Intel cannot find customers to use its services.
The existing 18A process, along with the upcoming 18A-P, is currently used to produce parts for Intel’s Nova Lake-S desktop processors. In fact, it has also been reported that TSMC’s services have been asked again to help produce some components for the processors.
Intel’s current focus seems to be on ensuring that the 18A process can produce its own processors at scale. However, they still want to make sure that there is demand for the 14A process before they invest money into research and development of the semiconductor manufacturing process.
This is seen as a very big decision by Intel, as they are seen as the only semiconductor company from the United States that has the ability to produce their own processing chips, and compete with companies such as TSMC and Samsung.
If Intel stops developing the 14A process and above in the future due to the lack of customers, Intel will likely have to sell their semiconductor production division and it is expected that more employees of the company will lose their jobs and they will no longer be the world's giant of semiconductor chip designers and manufacturers.