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Intel's ( INTC ) Panther Lake chip uses new 18A manufacturing

process

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Intel ( INTC ) aims to reassure with technical briefings and

factory tour

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Intel ( INTC ) expects Panther Lake to use 30% less energy than

prior

generation

By Max A. Cherney

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Intel ( INTC ) plans to

release technical details about its forthcoming chip for

laptops, known as Panther Lake, on Thursday, four sources

briefed on the plans told Reuters. It is part of an effort to

reassure investors about Intel's ( INTC ) first product made entirely

using its next-generation manufacturing process called 18A, the

sources said.

The Panther Lake chips are the company's high-end mobile

processors that are typically included in more expensive laptops

and are the first high-volume Intel ( INTC ) products to use the 18A

process that the company has spent billions developing. In part

because of manufacturing stumbles, Intel ( INTC ) has steadily ceded

laptop and PC market share to rival Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )

. Panther Lake represents an opportunity to reverse some

of the losses.

The company conducted hours of technical briefings and

factory tours in Arizona for industry analysts last week on the

new Panther Lake microarchitecture, including detailed

explanations of the graphics and central processor cores and its

media engine, according to the sources. Intel ( INTC ) revealed a

redesigned AI engine and the company's efficiency and

performance processor cores, which were redesigned for the 18A

manufacturing process.

The last-generation laptop chip called Lunar Lake was

primarily made by Intel ( INTC ) rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Co. ( TSM )

Intel ( INTC ) executives have said the Panther Lake chips will be

available early in 2026, according to the sources. The new chips

use 30% less energy than the prior generation, and its graphics

and central processors will receive a 50% boost in their ability

to crunch data in some situations, according to a second source

briefed on the chips.

The technical briefings conducted last week for a group of

analysts and journalists underscored the importance of Panther

Lake's success to Intel ( INTC ), which has struggled to manufacture the

cutting-edge chips.

An Intel ( INTC ) spokesperson said the company holds technical

briefings in the autumn most years on various topics but

declined to comment further.

In July, the chipmaker reported a second-quarter loss of $2.9

billion and disclosed that if it did not secure a customer for

its planned future 14A manufacturing process, it would suspend

work on it. After U.S. President Donald Trump called for the

resignation of Intel ( INTC ) CEO Lip-Bu Tan in August, Intel ( INTC ) attracted

investments from SoftBank Group and Nvidia ( NVDA ).

After Tan met with Trump and other officials in the White House,

the administration worked out a deal to transform a CHIPS Act

grant into a 9.9% equity stake in the company.

Last week, as part of the briefings, Intel ( INTC ) conducted a tour

for reporters and industry analysts of its factories in Arizona,

including one called Fab 52, the people said. Intel ( INTC ) broke ground

on Fab 52 in 2021 as part of former CEO Pat Gelsinger's

multibillion-dollar global expansion plan to compete with TSMC

in the contract manufacturing business.

Fab 52 houses Intel's ( INTC ) 18A in-house manufacturing process,

which includes a new transistor design and a method of

delivering energy to the chip more efficiently. The tour aimed

to demonstrate Intel's ( INTC ) manufacturing prowess and show off the

chip factory, or fab, that it will use for high-volume

manufacturing of Panther Lake chips. Reuters did not attend this

tour.

Intel ( INTC ) executives did not discuss the current Panther Lake

yields, or the number of good chips that Intel ( INTC ) is capable of

producing, according to the people. Reuters reported in August

that over the summer the Panther Lake yield was roughly 10%, up

from 5% late last year.