Intel (INTC) passed a key hurdle in the storied chipmaker’s ongoing turnaround effort by officially launching its Core Ultra Series 3 chips on Tuesday.
The unveiling of the AI PC chips during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas marked Intel’s first launch of a product using its latest 18A manufacturing process. Intel said Tuesday that the Core Ultra Series 3 chips, dubbed “Panther Lake,” are in production, ramping, and available for order this week.
Intel stock soared 7% in Wednesday’s trading session following the announcement.
Intel has been working to revive its struggling manufacturing business just as its chips forfeit market share to AMD (AMD) and Arm (ARM). The company has been stuck in a negative feedback loop: Years of manufacturing missteps made its chips less competitive, and weaker chip sales left its factories underutilized, making it even harder for the manufacturing segment to regain its footing.
Former CEO Pat Gelsinger worked to solve that underutilization issue by opening up the business to outside customers and accelerating Intel’s introduction of complex manufacturing technologies, but no substantial customers signed on to use the company’s factories, or “fabs.” Analysts say Gelsinger also set overly aggressive timelines that Intel repeatedly missed as it struggled to bring new manufacturing processes, or “nodes,” to market.
Intel has continued to work toward revamping its cash-bleeding manufacturing arm under new chief executive Lip-Bu Tan, buoyed by major investments from the US government and Nvidia (NVDA).
The launch of 18A marks the biggest manufacturing technology upgrade from Intel in roughly a decade, and the debut of Panther Lake showed Intel finally meeting its goal to deliver products using that latest manufacturing tech — a critical hurdle it’s failed to clear in the last few years.
“ For Intel, this is a big deal,” said Epistrophy Capital Research chief market strategist Cory Johnson. “ Intel has had a credibility gap … There was reasonable doubt in the market as to whether or not they could do what they say they were trying to do.”
Although Intel was unable to draw in a marquee customer like Broadcom (AVGO) or Nvidia for its 18A process, the success of Panther Lake could convince chip designers to use Intel’s next-generation manufacturing nodes, 18A-P and 14A, noted Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Anshel Sag.
“ This was always going to be kind of a do-or-die moment for Intel in a lot of ways,” Sag said. “ They’re back to being an executing machine.”
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @laurabratton.bsky.social. Email her at laura.bratton@yahooinc.com.
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