Overview

• Intel’s recent 10-Q filing warns that the company may pause or discontinue its advanced 14A process and successor nodes if it fails to secure a significant external customer and meet key milestones.
• CEO Lip-Bu Tan has pledged to require both internal and external volume commitments before authorizing any capital expenditure on 14A tooling.
• The move highlights rising development costs, as each High-NA EUV lithography machine for 14A carries a projected price tag of about $380 million and two units are needed for high-volume production.
• This marks the first time Intel has publicly contemplated withdrawing from the leading-edge semiconductor race, effectively ceding advanced node leadership to TSMC and Samsung.
• Abandoning 14A would deal a blow to U.S. chipmaking ambitions by deepening reliance on overseas foundries for next-generation process technologies.