If this report is largely accurate, Intel could be entering a new era of highly profitable growth. It is claimed that nearly all top players in the US chip technology sector, including Amazon, Apple, AMD, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm, are evaluating Intel's upcoming 14A process node.
This news comes from investment bank Piper Sandler (as reported by tech media WCCFTech). The report points out: "Performance metrics for the 14A foundry process are trending positively, currently awaiting anchor customers. All major US clients (such as Amazon, Apple, AMD, Google, Tesla, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, etc.) are evaluating Intel's 14A process for three reasons: first, technical performance exceeds expectations; second, TSMC's capacity is fully booked through 2028, prompting the industry to seek alternative wafer foundry and packaging suppliers beyond TSMC; third, the trend toward localized capacity driven by political pressures."
"From late 2026 to early 2027, Intel needs to convert these prospective customers into core foundry clients before ramping up capacity in 2028. We believe the $20 billion stock offering completed by Intel last month signals confidence in securing these key customers."
Piper Sandler's report added: "This funding will support equipment investments for the 14A wafer fab, which is planned to have a monthly capacity of 20,000 wafers and a construction cost of approximately $10 billion. It should be noted that the main structure of Fab 62 is nearly complete, but production equipment still needs to be installed."
In addition to the broader trend of supply chain reshoring to the US being a key driving force, the $20 billion stock issuance is another critical piece of information. As Piper Sandler noted, this funding will support the construction of next-generation 14A wafer fabs.
Furthermore, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has previously made it clear that a definitive sign of Intel's genuine commitment to its new 14A technology would be the company beginning to invest capital in building wafer fabs.
Last July, Tan stated: "If we fail to secure important external customers and miss key customer delivery milestones for the 14A process, continuing R&D and production of 14A and subsequent advanced process nodes may no longer be economically viable."
"Under such circumstances, we might pause or terminate R&D for 14A and subsequent nodes, as well as several manufacturing expansion projects."
Recently, the CEO stated that progress on the 14A process is going smoothly, with the first so-called "risk production" chips expected to roll out in 2028. Intel believes this timeline will allow it to directly compete with TSMC's advanced process technologies. Tan described it as "a very significant breakthrough."
For additional context, Intel's 14A node is its next-generation chip production technology. Theoretically, "14A" refers to the minimum feature size of components within the chip at this process node, i.e., 14 angstroms, equivalent to 1.4 nanometers.
In reality, however, the actual dimensions of internal components in modern chips have long been decoupled from such marketing names, with actual sizes typically being three to four times larger than the nominal node values.
Similarly, process node numbers from different manufacturers are not directly comparable. In other words, TSMC's 2nm and Intel's 2nm do not represent the same standard. Therefore, while you might assume that Intel's existing 18A node (nominally 1.8nm) is comparable to TSMC's N2 node (nominally 2nm), most industry analysts actually believe that Intel's 18A performance is equivalent only to TSMC's earlier N3 (3nm) node.
It remains unclear how Intel's 14A node specifically compares to TSMC's technology. Tan's assertion that 14A can compete with TSMC's processes likely implies a default comparison to TSMC's N2 node. However, by 2028, TSMC's next-generation A16 node may well be the mainstream competitor in the market.
Regardless, TSMC currently holds absolute dominance in the advanced chip foundry market, leaving ample room for Intel to enter. If Intel can secure even a small portion of the aforementioned potential customers, it would be a significant benefit for the company.
However, the issue is that back in March 2021, the then-Intel CEO announced plans to transform into a customer foundry business, no longer using its own fabs solely to produce chips designed in-house. Now, in the latter half of 2026, we are still waiting for Intel to announce the key anchor customer that will truly solidify its foundry business.