Intel principal engineer: TSMC deal a mistake, Intel 18A is more advanced, has early adopters

Intel Principal Engineering Program Manager, Joseph Bonetti, says that the rumored TSMC deal is a mistake and that the new Intel 18A process node is more advanced, and that the company has early adopters onboard.

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In a now-deleted post on LinkedIn, Bonetti said that Intel is making progress in semiconductor manufacturing and that Intel 18A -- which is destined for its upcoming Panther Lake CPUs -- is nearing completion. Bonetti said that Intel Foundry will prove itself with its own new products, and that early adopters include Microsoft and Amazon.

Bonetti talked about the concerns that Intel 18A might be beaten by TSMC's new N2 process node, noting that both nodes use gate-all-around (GAA) transistors, and that Intel 18A will have the added advantage of backside power delivery. Bonetti said that neither company (Intel nor TSMC) has a "2nm" node right now, but that Intel is on track to have theirs in production sooner than TSMC.

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Bonetti said that he sees challenges for Intel ahead, and that Intel Foundry Services (IFS) is unprofitable due to large investments, and the lack of major external contracts. TSMC's own roadmap points to its 2nm process node (N2) heading into mass production in 2H 2025, with large-scale production penciled in for 2026.