Monday, March 3rd 2025
NVIDIA and Broadcom Testing Intel 18A Node for Chip Production
TSMC appears to be in for a competitive period, as sources close to Reuters note that both NVIDIA and Broadcom have tested Intel's 18A node with initial test chips. These tests are early indicators of whether Intel can successfully pivot into the contract manufacturing sector currently dominated by TSMC. Intel's 18A technology—featuring RibbonFET transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery—continues progressing through its development roadmap. The technology's performance characteristics reportedly sit between TSMC's current and next-generation nodes, creating a narrow window of competitive opportunity that Intel must capitalize on. What makes these particular tests significant is their positioning relative to actual production commitments. Chip designers typically run multiple test phases before allocating high-volume manufacturing contracts, with each progression reducing technical risk.
Reuters also reported that a six-month qualification delay for third-party IP blocks, which represents a critical vulnerability in Intel's foundry strategy, potentially undermining its ability to service smaller chip designers who rely on these standardized components. However, when this IP (PHY, controller, PCIe interface, etc.) is qualified for the 18A node, it is expected to go into many SoCs that will equal in millions of shipped chips. Additionally, the geopolitical dimensions of Intel's foundry efforts ease concerns of US-based chip designers as they gain a valuable manufacturing partner in their supply chain. Nonetheless, the 18A node is competitive with TSMC, and Intel plans only to evolve from here. Intel's current financial trajectory is the number one beneficiary if it proves good. With foundry revenues declining 60% year-over-year and profitability pushed beyond 2027, the company must demonstrate commercial viability to investors increasingly skeptical of its capital-intensive manufacturing strategy. Securing high-profile customers like NVIDIA could provide the market validation necessary to sustain continued investment in its foundry infrastructure.
Sources:
Reuters, via Tom's Hardware
Reuters also reported that a six-month qualification delay for third-party IP blocks, which represents a critical vulnerability in Intel's foundry strategy, potentially undermining its ability to service smaller chip designers who rely on these standardized components. However, when this IP (PHY, controller, PCIe interface, etc.) is qualified for the 18A node, it is expected to go into many SoCs that will equal in millions of shipped chips. Additionally, the geopolitical dimensions of Intel's foundry efforts ease concerns of US-based chip designers as they gain a valuable manufacturing partner in their supply chain. Nonetheless, the 18A node is competitive with TSMC, and Intel plans only to evolve from here. Intel's current financial trajectory is the number one beneficiary if it proves good. With foundry revenues declining 60% year-over-year and profitability pushed beyond 2027, the company must demonstrate commercial viability to investors increasingly skeptical of its capital-intensive manufacturing strategy. Securing high-profile customers like NVIDIA could provide the market validation necessary to sustain continued investment in its foundry infrastructure.
11 Comments on NVIDIA and Broadcom Testing Intel 18A Node for Chip Production
This is why companies don't like moving to a new foundry partner, as it could be a huge waste of time and money.
first intel needs to manufacture their own CPUs+GPUS+ server processors in their 18A facility.
and secondly, they should be competing with samsung nodes for sub 3nm nodes. not TSMC.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible to move to a different foundry, but it's a lot of hard work for both parties, if one party is using tooling that isn't entirely compatible.
Also keep in mind that TSMC has worked with Nvidia so long that they have a very tight relationship in terms of knowhow of how both parties work, as every chip design company have their own little quirks that the foundries have to work with or work around or adapt to somehow. Sometimes the chip designers have to adjust their way of doing things as well.
Making chips is not a simple process.
Samsung claimed better power efficiency and performance than TSMC on the "same" node, which clearly wasn't the case and on top of that, how long did it take until they got the yields up to an acceptable level?Sure and as I said, it's not impossible, it's just very time and cost consuming to move to a different foundry partner, even for a new chip. I don't know what design tools any of the involved parties use, but I would assume Intel is used to work with their own, most likely in-house and highly customised design tools, whereas Nvidia has their own tools that TSMC have gotten used to working with over the past 25+ years they've been making chips for Nvidia. Intel is inexperienced when it comes to not only making chips for, but also working with third parties and I can see this being a big issue when it comes to communications between the two. TSMC on the other hand has done nothing but making chips for third parties, since the "product" is chip making.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, but my point still stands, it's not easy to change foundry partner and as the article points out, this is why these companies are making test chips to see if it's even something they're going to attempt.
The fact of the matter is, TSMC is becoming extremely expensive to hire, no matter who you are. Everybody and their dog knows this. They are also practically joined at the hip with Apple when it comes to their latest and greatest nodes. You can't tell me that doesn't rub nVidia (who hate Apple more than they hate everybody else, combined, by a factor of 10 to 100) the wrong way. That's why Intel's 18A is getting attention from nVidia. Period.