SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2026, 03:46 PST
- Intel CEO is weighing the future of the 18A chipmaking process as a foundry service for external clients, according to the CFO.
- This shift has the potential to reshape the company’s foundry pitch as it works to fill its factories and close the gap with competitors.
- Intel’s board chair transition, part of its wider turnaround push, was disclosed just days before these comments surfaced.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is considering opening up the company’s 18A manufacturing process to external clients, marking a shift from last year’s plan to reserve the technology mainly for Intel’s own product lines, CFO David Zinsner said Wednesday. The stock jumped roughly 6% on the day as chipmakers rallied. 1
The urgency is clear: Intel’s comeback depends on reliably producing advanced chips, and then convincing buyers to use that manufacturing muscle. As for its foundry push—making chips for other firms—steady orders only follow if Intel delivers high yields and on-time shipments. Customers won’t sign up otherwise.
Tan’s view: 18A only makes real sense if Intel keeps it in-house, with the foundry arm better off pushing 14A instead. But Zinsner’s latest remarks point to 18A nearing a stage where Intel could market it with less hesitation.
“At least now,” Zinsner said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom conference in San Francisco, Tan is “starting to recognize” 18A as “a good node to offer to external customers.”
Intel has talked up better yields — that’s the percentage of usable chips per silicon wafer — but when yields lag, gross margin feels the pinch and shipping volumes get held back. It’s a track record that’s left potential customers wary.
Elsewhere on governance, Intel said in a filing that board chair Frank Yeary has notified the board of plans to retire after the company’s 2026 annual meeting. Director Craig H. Barratt is set to take over as chair then.
Wall Street isn’t mincing words about the board shake-up. “I think his departure was long overdue,” said Jay Goldberg, analyst at Seaport Securities, in comments to Reuters. He noted that bringing in a more professional board might give Tan a shot at fixing culture and execution. 2
Intel’s decision to extend 18A access outside its in-house portfolio might sharpen its challenge to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the contract manufacturing heavyweight, as well as to foundry rivals also eyeing those crucial, longer-term contracts.
Tan says he’ll stay on top of Intel’s factories, pursuing customers for 14A—the company’s upcoming move on the manufacturing front. With talk now shifting to 18A, the focus quickly turns to whether Intel can actually convert those process gains into concrete business deals.
Still, taking 18A wider isn’t without risks. Should yields lag behind Intel’s own projections, or if customers hesitate to lock in sizable orders, the company might pour even more resources into engineering and fabs—only to wind up with a node that largely serves its own needs.
Investors want more than conference promises. They’re watching for real proof the strategy is changing: concrete yield gains, yes, but also customer wins and hard dates for when those external chips will start shipping in real volume.
