Intel to Unveil Panther Lake Chip Details, Highlight 18A Process
- tech360.tv
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
Intel plans to release technical details about its forthcoming Panther Lake chip for laptops on Thursday, according to sources briefed on the plans. This effort aims to reassure investors about Intel's initial product made entirely using its next-generation 18A manufacturing process.
Panther Lake chips are the company's high-end mobile processors, typically featured in more expensive laptops. They mark the first high-volume Intel products to utilise the 18A process, which the company has invested billions into developing.
These chips represent an opportunity for Intel to reclaim some market share, having steadily lost ground in the laptop and PC sectors to rival Advanced Micro Devices, partly due to past manufacturing challenges.
Last week, Intel held extensive technical briefings and factory tours in Arizona for industry analysts. These sessions provided detailed explanations of the new Panther Lake microarchitecture, including its graphics, central processor cores, and media engine, sources indicated.
During the briefings, Intel revealed a redesigned AI engine and its efficiency and performance processor cores, which have been specifically redesigned for the 18A manufacturing process.
Intel executives have stated that the Panther Lake chips will be available early in 2026. These new chips use 30% less energy than the prior generation, and their graphics and central processors will receive a 50% boost in their ability to crunch data in certain situations, a second source briefed on the chips reported.
In contrast, the last-generation laptop chip, Lunar Lake, was primarily manufactured by Intel rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
An Intel spokesperson said the company holds technical briefings in the autumn most years on various topics but declined to comment further. The technical briefings conducted last week for a group of analysts and journalists underscored the importance of Panther Lake's success to Intel, which has struggled to manufacture the cutting-edge chips.
In July, the chipmaker reported a second-quarter loss of USD 2.9 billion. It also disclosed that work on its planned future 14A manufacturing process would be suspended if it failed to secure a customer.
Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan in August, Intel attracted investments from SoftBank Group and Nvidia. After Mr. Tan met with Mr. Trump and other officials at the White House, the administration secured a deal to convert a CHIPS Act grant into a 9.9% equity stake in the company.
As part of last week's briefings, Intel conducted a tour of its factories in Arizona for reporters and industry analysts, including Fab 52. Intel 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 contract manufacturing.
Fab 52 houses Intel's 18A in-house manufacturing process, which features a new transistor design and a more efficient method of delivering energy to the chip. The tour aimed to showcase Intel's manufacturing prowess and the factory designated for high-volume manufacturing of Panther Lake chips.
Intel executives did not discuss the current Panther Lake yields, or the number of good chips the company is capable of producing, according to the people present. Reports in August indicated that over the summer, the Panther Lake yield was approximately 10%, an increase from 5% late last year.
Intel is set to reveal technical details for its Panther Lake laptop chip.
Panther Lake will be the first high-volume product using Intel's 18A manufacturing process.
The new chips, expected by early 2026, will use 30% less energy and offer a 50% boost in data processing in some situations.
Source: REUTERS
