Foundry Competition Rising

Intel is stepping up its foundry buildout, with TrendForce reporting equipment orders could climb more than 50% this year as it pitches its 14A process to outside chip designers. (trendforce.com) A foundry is the factory business of making chips for other companies, and Intel has spent the past two years trying to turn that unit into a contract manufacturer that can compete for the same customers that use Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung. Intel formally launched Intel Foundry in February 2024 and said then it wanted to become the No. 2 foundry by 2030. (intel.com) Intel put 14A on that roadmap in February 2024 as the node after 18A, then told customers at its April 29, 2025 Direct Connect event that lead customers had already received an early 14A process design kit and that multiple customers intended to build test chips on it. Intel said 14A will use second-generation gate-all-around transistors, which it calls RibbonFET 2, and a new direct-contact backside power system called PowerDirect. (intel.com, intel.com) Those details matter because chip customers do not buy a process node alone. They buy a package too: the wiring, power delivery and memory links that connect several chip pieces into one product, especially for artificial intelligence accelerators and data-center parts. (intel.com, tsmc.com) Intel is leaning on EMIB, short for Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge, as part of that pitch. Intel says EMIB uses a small silicon bridge instead of a full silicon interposer, and its newer EMIB variants add features for power delivery and high-bandwidth memory links. (intel.com) At Direct Connect 2025, Intel framed that packaging work as part of a broader “systems foundry” offer, not just a wafer business. The company used the event to spotlight advanced packaging, manufacturing capacity and design-tool partnerships with Cadence, Siemens EDA and Synopsys. (intel.com, intel.com) TrendForce’s report says 14A could draw major customers by the end of 2026 after Intel releases a fuller process design kit, and it names Google, Apple, Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia as possible candidates cited in the underlying analyst chatter. TrendForce also says EMIB is emerging as another selling point in Intel’s attempt to win external business. (trendforce.com) Intel has already disclosed some outside traction, though mostly around earlier nodes and ecosystem support rather than signed 14A production wins. Microsoft said in February 2024 that it had chosen a chip design it planned to produce on Intel 18A, and Intel said in April 2025 that MediaTek, Microsoft and Qualcomm executives would appear at Direct Connect. (intel.com, intel.com) Intel has also tied the foundry push to financial targets. Company executives said in 2024 and 2025 that the foundry business was aiming for break-even around 2027, a goal that depends on turning technical interest into enough external revenue to fill fabs and packaging lines. (businesswire.com, calcalistech.com) For chip designers, the immediate change is not that Intel has displaced Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. It is that a second advanced path now looks more concrete on paper, with a named node, early design kits, packaging options and a company signaling it is willing to spend more on the tools needed to build it. (trendforce.com, intel.com)