Intel Foundry's future depends on securing customers for its next-gen Intel 14A process node

The future of Intel Foundry is in the hands of external customers like Apple and NVIDIA signing up for its new Intel 14A process node, and if that doesn't happen, the company might be closing the doors to its semiconductor foundry business.

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Intel's new CEO Lip-Bu Tan said on Thursday that its engineers were hard at work with customers to jump-start its next-gen contract manufacturing process, after the company announced yet another wave of layoffs that will see 15,000+ jobs slashed.

The company's next-gen Intel 14A process node is crucial to the success of the technology, so much so that if Intel fails to secure big customers for its new node, it might be shutting down its Intel Foundry business for good. If Intel did drop out of the chipmaking race, it would be huge news (on top of the piles of huge news from Intel, and its mostly not good) as Intel is the only US-based chipmaker capable (well, kinda) of making advanced chips.

Intel's former CEO, Pat Gelsinger, funneled a lot of money into the Foundry business with the aims of competing with TSMC, but it just hasn't worked. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who replaced Gelsinger, said recently on a post-earnings call that he was personally reviewing any and all chip designs and investments.

Tan said in a memo released: "We're developing Intel 14A ... from the ground up in close partnership with large external customers. Going forward, our investment in Intel 14A will be based on confirmed customer commitments. We will build what our customers need, when they need it, and earn their trust through consistent execution".

Intel said that without a significant big tech customer, the company would consider cancelling or pausing the development of Intel 14A and future semiconductor technologies. If the company does this, it plans to continue manufacturing chips on its Intel 18A process tech and variants, through to 2030 according to its recent filing.

In the post-earnings call, Tan said that he is focused on working with customers to make sure its Intel 14A process is a success and that close collaboration with external customers is something that was missing from Intel 18A, which is marked for high-volume production later this year.

Tan said that bringing in big tech companies and gaining their feedback during 14A development has already made it more promising than 18A. Tan said: "That gave me a lot more confidence that this time, we have customers (that) are engaging early enough in the inception. We learn from our mistakes, and we can learn quicker and then get a better result".