Intel's new CEO explores major reforms in chip manufacturing business

Gate News bot news, two people familiar with the matter revealed that Intel's new CEO is exploring significant reforms in its foundry business to win major clients. This move may differ from the costly plans of his predecessor. Sources say that if implemented, Intel's so-called new strategy for its "foundry" business will no longer include marketing certain chip manufacturing technologies that the company has developed over the long term to external clients.

Since taking the helm at Intel in March of this year, CEO Lip-Bu Tan has quickly taken action to cut costs and seek new ways to revitalize the struggling American chip maker. According to sources who wished to remain anonymous, by June, he began to indicate that the 18A manufacturing process, which former CEO Pat Gelsinger had heavily invested in for research and development, was losing its appeal to new customers. A knowledgeable source stated that in order to sidestep the external sales of 18A and its variant 18A-P (which Intel has spent billions of dollars developing), the company will have to make a write-down. Industry analysts contacted by Reuters indicated that this expense could result in losses of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Intel declined to comment on such "hypothetical scenarios or market speculation." The company stated that its primary customer for 18A has long been Intel itself, with the goal of ramping up production of its "Panther Lake" laptop chips later in 2025, which it claims are the most advanced processors ever designed and manufactured in the United States.