Intel's CEO, Pat Gelsinger, reaffirmed their commitment to the 18A process node with Panther Lake & Clearwater Forest headed for a mid-2025 launch.
Intel 18A Process Node On Track: Panther Lake & Clearwater Forest In Fabs, Production In 1H 2025, Launch In Mid-2025
During its Q1 2024 earnings call, Intel confirmed that the progress on the 18A process node and the respective products is going according to plan. First up, we will see the production ramp of 20A process node which is on schedule for production ramp in the second half of this year and is going to be the process of choice for two lead products launching later this year, Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake.
Following the launch of Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake, Intel has plans to begin production on its 18A process node. The company confirmed that the 18A PDK (1.0) will be released this quarter and the two lead products include the next-gen E-Core Clearwater Forest "Xeon 7" family for data centers & the Cougar Cove P-Core based Panther Lake family for consumer PCs (Desktops & Laptops). Intel also highlighted that the 18A production ramp for both products will commence in the first half of 2025 followed by the product release in the middle of 2025.
Intel 20A, which helps pave the way for Intel 18A begins production ramp in the second half of this year with Arrow Lake.
We expect to release the 1.0 PDK for Intel 18A this quarter. Furthermore, our lead products, Clearwater Forest and Panther Lake are already in fab, and we expect to begin production ramp of Intel 18A in these products in the first half of '25 for product release in the middle of next year.
Pat Gelsinger - Intel CEO
Talking about existing products, Intel confirmed that its Core Ultra ramp continues and the overall units (shipments) are expected to double in the current quarter. It is also stated that the shipments are only limited by the supply of wafer-level assembly and Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" supply is going to get better in the second half of 2024 followed by the addition of Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake CPUs.
These three Core Ultra families, Core Ultra 100 (Meteor Lake), Core Ultra 200 (Arrow Lake) & Core Ultra 200V (Lunar Lake) will accelerate shipments above 40 million AI PC units by the end of 2024.
Our Core Ultra ramp, led by Meteor Lake, continues to accelerate beyond our original expectation with units expected to double sequentially in Q2, limited only by our supply of wafer-level assembly, improving second half Meteor Lake supply and the addition of Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake later this year will allow us to ship in excess of our original 40 million AI PC CPU target in 2024.
Pat Gelsinger - Intel CEO
On the Data Center & Enterprise side, Intel is expecting the launch of its first Intel 3-powered CPU family codenamed Sierra Forest. Based on the Sierra Glen E-Core (optimized version of Crestmont E-Core), the Xeon 6(E) family will offer up to 288 cores and will be released in the coming month. It will be followed by the release of the Granite Rapids P-Core (Redwood Cove) family which will be offering up to 128 cores on the LGA 4710 and LGA 7592 sockets under the Birch Stream platforms.
Intel expects Granite Rapids-P Xeon 6(P) CPUs will mark the official production ramp of the Intel 3 process node. Then we have Clearwater Forest which as mentioned above, is one of the two lead products based on the 18A process node. Intel calls Clearwater Forest a "Very Strong Product" and will utilize the Darkmont E-Core architecture.
Within DC AI, as committed, we have achieved product release on our first Intel 3 server product, the first-generation E-core Xeon 6, codename Sierra Forest. The next-generation P-core Xeon 6 product, Granite Rapids, will be released in Q3.
Our first Intel 18A product, Clearwater Forest, is slated to launch next year and will allow us to accelerate share gains.
Yeah. So, Sierra Forest, our first Xeon 6 product on Intel 3, I'm super proud, right? Now we have a leadership process technology back on American soil for the first time in a decade. This is really exciting. And Sierra Forest, high core count, 144, 288 core product, very focused on power, performance, efficiency, and we do see a good pipeline of customers and a good pipeline of, I'll say, socket win backs because the area of power performance has been an area that we've been carrying a deficit being on an older node and now that we're on leadership nodes, we definitely see share gains for that.
Of course, Granite Rapids, which will come in Q3, the Xeon 6 core part is much more of the bread and butter of the Xeon family. So, we do see that being a stronger element to the portfolio this year as we haven't been participating in the power performance sockets as aggressively lately, and Sierra Forest gives us that tool. So, it really is a one-two punch, as we've described with Granite coming in Q3 and a volume ramp on Intel 3 with that, we feel we have a very good product line. Next year is Clearwater Forest, the second generation of the E-core part, the leadership position on 18A in the server market, a very strong product for us.
Pat Gelsinger - Intel CEO
Moving onward to the Foundry business, Intel highlighted another 18A custom which brings the total tally to 6. The customer is mentioned to be a leader in the aerospace and defense industry but that's not all, the US Department of Defense also awarded Intel Foundry Phase III of the RAMP C program which paves the way for more customers in the defense department. The company also mentions around 50 test chips based on the 18A node in the pipeline.
Intel expects that the Foundry segment is expected to see big gains with a TAM of $240 Billion by 2030 ($110 Billion today). The main growth areas will include EUV nodes and advanced packaging technologies.
I am pleased to announce that this quarter, we signed another meaningful customer on Intel 18A bringing our total to 6, a leader in the aerospace and defense industry. This customer chose Intel foundry based not only on the process technology benefits of Intel 18A but also because of their desire to have a secure U.S.-only supply base. Just this week, we were very pleased to announce that the DoD awarded Intel foundry Phase III of the RAMP C program, which we are confident will lead to additional federal aerospace and defense customers.
More broadly, we are seeing growing interest in Intel 18A and we continue to have a strong pipeline of nearly 50 test chips. The near-term interest in Intel foundry continues to be strongest with advanced packaging, which now includes engagements with nearly every foundry customer in the industry, including five design awards. While we are highly focused on improving the near-term profitability of Intel Foundry, it is also important that we keep sight of the long-term opportunity here. The foundry market is expected to grow from $110 billion today to $240 billion by 2030, with almost 90% of the growth coming from EUV nodes and advanced packaging.
Pat Gelsinger - Intel CEO
Lastly, Intel mentions its Falcon Shores AI GPU accelerator which will combine the best of Gaudi 3 with a fully programmable architecture backed up by a strong AI ecosystem (OneAPI). The Falcon Shores GPU is expected to launch in late 2025 so that will be a major release for the company as it tries to replicate the success of NVIDIA in the AI segment.
We'll be bringing that late next year when Falcon Shores when we combine the great systolic performance of Gaudi 3 with a fully programmable architecture and all of that comes together with Falcon Shores. And then we have a rich -- a very aggressive cadence of Falcon Shores products following that.
Pat Gelsinger - Intel CEO
Intel's Q1 2024 Highlights:
- Intel 7, Intel 4, and Intel 3: In high-volume manufacturing
- Intel 20A: Begins production ramp in 2H’24 with Arrow Lake
- Intel 18A: Expect to release 1.0 PDK in Q2’24, with production ramp of lead products, Clearwater Forest and Panther Lake in 1H’25
- Unveiled process technology roadmap beyond five nodes in four years, adding Intel 14A to leading-edge node lineup following Intel 18A
- Announced several specialized node evolutions for Intel 3, Intel 18A, and Intel 14A to enable customers to develop and deliver products tailored to their specific needs
- Engaged with nearly every foundry customer in the industry on advanced packaging, including 5 design awards
- Launched Intel Foundry, the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, offering full-stack optimization from the factory network to software
- At Intel Vision, the company introduced the Gaudi 3 AI accelerator, projected to deliver on average 50% faster inference and 40% greater inference power efficiency than Nvidia H100 on leading GenAI models.
- Shipped more than 5 million AI PCs since the December 2023 launch of Core Ultra processors
- Unveiled Xeon 6, the new brand for next-generation processors for data centers, cloud, and edge
