Intel is investing to ‘recapture process leadership’

Intel has been wrestling with getting its 10nm process technology ready for years now. In the meantime, AMD has leapfrogged ahead and is comfortably pushing out impressive 7nm CPUs. As you would expect, Intel doesn’t want to be in this position for very long and has confirmed that it is investing in an effort to recapture the crown. 

During Intel’s recent quarterly earnings update, the company confirmed revenues of over $19 billion. This of course comes without the benefit of 10nm shipping in large volume. During the call, Intel CEO, Bob Swan, essentially conceded that Team Blue has fallen behind the competition when it comes to process technology, but with increased investment, the company is hoping to turn that around.

Speaking with investors, Swan noted that Intel’s plan now is to ramp up 10nm production and then begin shipping 7nm processors in 2021, targeting a two year cadence. From there, Intel hopes to keep a two or two and a half year cadence for future process upgrades.

Here is part of the quote from the earnings call, which was transcribed by The Motley Fool: “ramp 10, two year cadence for 7, and our expectations at the cadence going forward to be more at two to two-and-a-half year time frame. So we're investing to recapture process leadership going forward.”

KitGuru Says: This has been a huge quarter for Intel but pressure from AMD is ramping. Intel is currently focussed on getting 10nm chips out in volume and by the end of 2021, we shall see if they can catch up on 7nm. Although one has to wonder if we’ll already be seeing others getting to grips with 5nm by that point. 

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