Analyst claims Nvidia's gaming GPUs could use Intel Foundry's 18A node in the future

GuruFocus reports that Nvidia is reportedly considering using Intel Foundry's manufacturing services for GPUs aimed at gamers. Timothy Arcuri, an analyst with UBS, is quoted as saying that if Intel lands an order from Nvidia, one of the biggest fabless chip designers, this would be a major win and perhaps an inflection point for Intel Foundry.

According to the analyst, Broadcom and Nvidia—two AI chip powerhouses—are considering using Intel's 18A (1.8 nm-class) process technology for their products. However, Arcuri claims that Nvidia is 'closer' to adopting Intel as its second (or third?) supplier than Broadcom. AMD has also demonstrated interest in this manufacturing process, though its progress with this node is unclear.

"Intel is working to finalize commitments from Nvidia or Broadcom to use its foundry services," Arcuri reportedly wrote in a note to clients.

In addition to 18A, Intel is prepping its performance-enhanced 18A-P fabrication technology, which promises to either increase performance at the same power, or decrease power at the same performance. The analyst believes this production node could appeal more to external customers who want to maximize their performance while minimizing power consumption.

While vanilla 18A manufacturing technology could be a very good choice for Intel, which needs to roll out its next-generation Panther Lake processors for client PCs and Xeon 7 'Clearwater Forest' CPUs for datacenters as soon as possible, fabless chip designers may opt for performance-enhanced version of the process, just like they do with TSMC. By doing so, they get higher performance or lower power and a bit more mature fabrication technology with lower performance variability, lower defect density, and potentially higher yields.

Timothy Arcuri wrote in a note to clients that Intel's new chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, will emphasize the company's chip design and foundry capabilities in the near term, which is something that both former CEO Pat Gelsinger and interim co-CEOs already did. The comment highlights that for now there is little understanding about Lip-Bu Tan's plans outside of the company.

Lip-Bu Tan will make his first public address as CEO of Intel on March 31 at the company's Vision event in Las Vegas. The event is mostly aimed at analysts and investors.