Intel seems to be facing crisis after crisis regarding their business. Shortly after Pat Gelsinger retired as CEO of the company, it was reported that Intel's 18A process node is still not ready for mass production of semiconductor chips.
In September, Broadcom, an electronics component manufacturer, reportedly tested the Intel 18A process node's ability to produce processing chips for their high-speed networking products, and it seems that it did not yield satisfactory results.
According to a report by Chosun, a South Korean media outlet that reports on matters related to the electronics and IT industry, they found that the processing chip production process was only able to produce as little as 10 percent of the usable semiconductor chip production.
This figure is seen as so bad that it cannot be used for mass production of semiconductor chips, and Broadcom is apparently looking to manufacture their network hardware components with other companies.
Intel 18A is supposed to be Intel's most modern manufacturing process, rivaling TSMC's N2 process which is also supposed to start mass production in 2025. In fact, Intel was previously seen stopping development of the 20A (20 Angstrom) process and jumping straight to 18A (18 Angstrom) to further accelerate Intel's technological development and advancement to compete with companies like TSMC.
In September, Intel also showed off their upcoming Intel Xeon processor, Clearwater Forest, which is built using the 18A process, indicating that Intel is ready to introduce their latest semiconductor chip manufacturing technology for their own use before it is introduced to other customers.
So far, Intel has not issued a statement on this report, and if it is true, it is no longer certain whether Intel can use 18A technology to produce their Panther Lake series of processors next year.