Intel CFO confirms that 14A will be more expensive to use than 18A — Intel expects 14A fabrication process to offer 15-20% better performance-per-watt or 25-35% lower power consumption compared to 18A

Intel's 14A manufacturing technology (1.4nm-class) technology — the company's first fabrication process that was designed both for Intel and its foundry customers from the ground up — will be more expensive to use than the company's upcoming 18A production node according to Intel. The reason for that will be use of ASML's next-generation Twinscan EXE:5200B High-NA lithography machine with a 0.55 numerical aperture optics.

"14A is more expensive than 18A," said David Zinsner, chief financial officer of Intel, at the Citi’s 2025 Global TMT Conference. "It is not significantly [more expensive] in terms of investment. [But] it is a higher wafer cost, for sure and partly that is because we, we are expecting to use High-NA EUV tools in 14A, which was not the case in 18A."

Intel expects its 14A fabrication process to offer 15% – 20% better performance-per-watt or 25% – 35% lower power consumption compared to 18A. The new manufacturing technology features RibbonFET 2, an upgraded gate-all-around transistor structure, and PowerDirect, a backside power delivery network that connects power wires directly to source and drain of transistors. A key innovation of 14A is Turbo Cells, which enhance CPU and GPU frequency by optimizing critical timing paths using high-drive, double-height cells within dense standard cell libraries, which boosts speed without major area or power compromises. However, to enable 18A production, Intel needs to use next-generation lithography systems that offer better resolution and therefore does not need to rely on multi-patterning.

ASML's Twinscan EXE High-NA EUV systems achieve a 8nm resolution in a single exposure, a notable leap from the 13.5nm resolution of current Low-NA EUV tools. Although Low-NA systems can also reach 8nm using double patterning, this approach increases process complexity and can impact yield. However, High-NA EUV reduces the exposure field by 50%, requiring chipmakers to adjust their design strategies. Moreover, the new systems are more expensive than existing litho machines.

ASML's current-generation Low-NA EUV Twinscan NXE:3800E tool costs around $235 million per unit, whereas its upcoming High-NA EUV Twinscan EXE:5200B (or more advanced) tools are expected to cost $380 million per unit. Due to the high cost and unique challenges posed by the technology, adoption of High-NA EUV vary: Intel is pushing for early deployment with 14A several years down the road from now, while TSMC is taking a more cautious approach.

Modern fabs designed to produce chips on leading-edge process technologies currently cost from $20 billion to $30 billion depending on capacity, so adding four High-NA tools at $1.52 billion will hardly increase fab cost significantly. Meanwhile, 14A R&D costs billions of dollars. As a result, once all the extra costs are added, they really make 14A process technology more expensive than 14A, which is why Intel Foundry needs external customers to justify extra costs.

"I think what [Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan is] saying is if we do not get 14A customers externally, it is going to be hard to justify that node," said Zinsner. "So yes, Intel Products will be a big customer on 14A, but it is, it is the totality of that demand, and we need to make sure it is to the level that we can generate a, a reasonable ROI for shareholders."

Earlier this year Intel announced that if it does not land a single significant customer for 14A, it would either slowdown its development, or will abandon it completely as developing and ramping up of a leading-edge process technology is a too expensive endeavor for a single company these days. However, Intel may no longer have a choice, but to finish development of 14A and then start production of chips on this technology as Intel Foundry is an indispensable part of Intel that cannot be spun off. Under the terms of the deal with the U.S. government, under which Intel converted its grants into equity, Intel should control at least 51% of Intel Foundry over the next five years as otherwise it will breach its contract with the U.S. government.

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