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Intel Launches Panther Lake, Its First 18A Laptop Chips, and Plans Handheld Gaming Platform

Investor reaction was cautious following assurances of improving 18A yields.

Overview

  • Unveiled at CES, the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) is the company’s first high‑volume product built on its 18A manufacturing process.
  • Intel claims up to 60% performance gains over the prior Lunar Lake generation, with a new transistor design and revamped power delivery.
  • The chips integrate an NPU for local generative‑AI tasks, with deployment supported through Intel’s OpenVINO toolkit.
  • Early availability remains limited as industry reports point to yield and ramp constraints, though Intel says yields are improving monthly and the launch timeline stands.
  • Intel also announced a handheld PC gaming platform with a dedicated Panther Lake‑based chip set for later this year, as Melius Research upgraded the stock to Buy citing potential—though unconfirmed—future foundry wins.