June 16 - Intel said on Tuesday that 18A-P, the next iteration of its 18-angstrom manufacturing node, has entered risk production. The move signals progress on Intel's stated manufacturing roadmap as the company looks to capitalize on robust demand for its central processors.
By shifting 18A-P into initial production, Intel aims to demonstrate execution on manufacturing commitments and to make the technology more attractive to outside customers. The company noted that 18A-P is fully design-rule-compatible with Intel 18A. That compatibility allows reuse of existing intellectual property and design flows, reducing the effort needed for chip designers who might migrate or extend designs to the new node.
Intel quantified 18A-P's advantages compared with 18A: the new variant delivers 9% higher performance at the same power level, often referred to as iso-power, or it can achieve 18% lower power consumption at the same processing speed, referred to as iso-performance. Intel also cited improved thermal characteristics and greater design flexibility as additional benefits of 18A-P.
Company leadership has signaled a shift in how the node might be commercialized. CEO Lip-Bu Tan has begun to recognize 18A as a potential offering for external customers, reversing an earlier view that the process would generate returns only through Intel's own products, according to finance chief David Zinsner in March.
The market context for the announcement includes strong processor demand from firms offering AI services. Intel said demand in the first quarter was so strong that it sold chips it had previously written off. The company provided a revenue forecast for the second quarter of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion, which sits above the market estimate of $13.07 billion compiled by LSEG.
For chip designers and system builders, the combination of performance-per-watt gains and direct design-rule compatibility with 18A could lower migration costs and accelerate adoption of the new node. For Intel, demonstrating 18A-P in production is part of a broader effort to show consistent delivery on manufacturing milestones and to position the node as a product that could attract external foundry customers.
Contextual note - The details above reflect Intel's statements about 18A-P's technical attributes, its design-rule compatibility with 18A, recent customer demand dynamics in the first quarter, and the company's second-quarter revenue guidance relative to the LSEG estimate.