Mention the use of external foundries
Intel has announced that it will produce its own 7-nanometer (nm) chip. It will be from 2023. Process development will begin in July this year. However, it also said that it would increase the proportion of consignment production (foundry) for some products.
In the 4Q 2020 performance announcement held on the 21st (current time), the current Intel CEO Bob Swan said, “As a result of internally identifying the technology development stage, the 7-nano central processing unit (CPU) will be produced on its own from 2023. I’m sure I can. Subsequently, he explained, “From the second half of last year, we have significantly increased R&D expenditures for 7-nano development.”
In the fourth quarter of last year, Intel increased its R&D expenditure by 9% from the previous year, spending $5.4 billion (about 5.9 trillion won). An explanation was added that the 7-nano process investment was actively reflected.
Although it was clear to produce 7-nano chips, the use of external foundries was also mentioned. “The recent 7-nano process has made remarkable progress,” said the next new CEO Pat Gelsinger. “We will expand the use of external foundries for specific technologies and products.” It can be interpreted as meaning that it will use an external foundry if necessary while producing chips directly.
Intel did not mention specific outsourced foundry companies in this concall. In the industry, it is expected that TSMC and Samsung Electronics will be the foundry.
The next new CEO, Pat Gelsinger, is set to take office on February 15th. This CEO change is attracting attention as it took place at a time when Intel suffered a crisis due to technological stagnation and customer churn. Recently, Intel is being evaluated as being lagging behind Taiwan’s TSMC and Korea’s Samsung Electronics in microprocessing technology. This is because Intel has not yet entered the process below 7nm. At the end of December last year, Intel’s Third Point asked Intel to shake off the production division and restructure.
In the fourth quarter, Intel recorded sales of $19.78 billion and operating profit of $5.884 billion. Compared to the same period of the previous year, they fell 1.1% and 13.4%, respectively. However, on an annual basis, sales and operating profit increased by 8.2% and 7.4% to $78.67 billion and $23.67 billion, respectively.
Copyright © The Elec, the electronic component specialty media Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited.