Intel's contract chip manufacturing division has reached a significant new milestone.

According to reports, on June 16 local time, Intel announced that an upgraded version of its 18A process node, called 18A-P, has officially entered the "risk production" phase.

The term "risk production" essentially means the manufacturing process is mature enough to begin initial volume production but is not yet ready for full-scale commercial delivery. This phase typically lasts six months to a year, during which Intel will test the actual performance of 18A-P across different chip cores in preparation for subsequent full-scale production.

Dan Hutcheson, Vice Chairman of market analysis firm TechInsights, stated, "Their willingness to enter risk production means they are ready to take on external customers."

Advancements of 18A-P Over 18A

18A-P is an enhanced version of the 18A process family. Intel indicates that compared to 18A, 18A-P offers stronger performance when handling intensive AI computing tasks while also improving power efficiency.

More crucially, 18A-P is fully compatible with 18A designs. This means clients do not need to redesign their chips from scratch and can continue development directly on 18A-P—significantly reducing switching costs for customers.

It is noteworthy that Intel initially had no plans for clients to use 18A-P. However, according to Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies, the large-scale build-out of AI infrastructure has driven strong demand for computing power and chip manufacturing, directly fueling market interest in 18A-P. Simultaneously, Intel has used this variant to improve chip yields and refine its Process Design Kit (PDK).

Bajarin described this as a "major leap" and stated that Intel is "now in a position to get customers and bring those customers into Intel Foundry."

Financial Pressures of the Foundry Business

The reason this progress draws significant attention lies fundamentally in the financial pressure on Intel's foundry business.

Bajarin noted plainly that Intel's foundry division "has been a consistently losing business." Data confirms this assessment: in the first quarter of this year, the division's operating loss reached a substantial $2.4 billion.

Wall Street's current bets on an Intel financial turnaround are largely concentrated on whether its next-generation 14A process node can attract external clients. However, the progress with 18A-P provides another path—if it can successfully secure customers, Bajarin believes it could offer considerable upside to Intel's revenue and margins.

Dan Hutcheson also pointed out that, considering chipmakers must now respond to customer demands at an extremely rapid pace, the 18A-P progress is a "key milestone in Intel's recovery." He added that Intel also holds a leading position in EMIB (Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge) chip packaging technology.

From Internal Validation to Securing External Clients

Prior to announcing 18A-P's entry into risk production, Intel had established some internal validation groundwork.

According to Bajarin, earlier this year, Intel launched its first consumer and commercial PC chips manufactured on the 18A node, which provided initial validation of its process technology and packaging capabilities. Dan Hutcheson also mentioned that Intel has built internal products using the 18A-P technology.

However, internal validation and securing external clients are two different matters. The core task of the "risk production" phase is precisely to prove, through practical testing across different chip cores, that this process is equally reliable for external customers. This six-month to one-year window will determine whether 18A-P can truly become a new growth driver for Intel's foundry business.