Intel Delays 7-Nanometer Chips to 2022 Amid Growing FAB Troubles
Intel pushes its 7-nanometer chip production to late 2022 due to a manufacturing defect, raising analyst concerns about outsourcing to rival foundries.
Intel reports strong second-quarter earnings driven by the remote work boom, but a major manufacturing delay dominates the conversation. CEO Bob Swan reveals that the company's 7-nanometer process experiences a six-month delay, with current yield trends falling a full year behind initial targets. A specific defect in the manufacturing process causes this issue, though Swan insists there are no fundamental roadblocks to eventually fixing it.
The delay means Intel does not expect to ship its first 7-nanometer client CPU until late 2022 or early 2023. This timeline puts Intel significantly behind competitors like TSMC, which already produces 7-nanometer chips and plans to roll out 5-nanometer and 3-nanometer technology much sooner. Because Intel operates its own fabrication facilities rather than outsourcing, this yield problem highlights a growing disadvantage compared to rival chipmakers.
Analysts press Swan on whether Intel considers outsourcing production to external foundries to catch up. While Swan expresses confidence in extracting performance gains from the current 10-nanometer chips, Intel already uses a mix of internal and external fabs for an upcoming data center GPU. The possibility of further outsourcing remains open as the company hedges against continued schedule uncertainty in its own manufacturing plants.