Intel was increasing its sales activity against South Korean fabless chip companies, TheElec has learned.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger last year met with senior executives of these companies and updated them on its chip foundry plan, sources said.
The US chip giant was heavily pitching its 18A process node to South Korean chip startups and is promising various incentives, they added.
On Wednesday, Intel unveiled its 14A process node, equivalent to 1.4-nanometer (nm), and said chips made with the node will go into mass production in 2027. It also said it secured orders of US$15 billion so far.
The company reiterated that it will become the second-largest foundry by 2030, which means it is aiming to bypass current runner-up Samsung to be just behind market leader TSMC.
Mass production for 18A will start by the end of this year, Intel has said, which will put it ahead of its foundry rivals Samsung and TSMC, which are preparing to launch 2nm, in terms of node advancement. A smaller number in nm mostly means it is the more advanced process node.
Samsung is planning to apply gate-all-around (GAA) to 3nm first then move to 2nm. TSMC and Intel are opting for a FinFET structure for their 3nm chips.
The three companies are competing for customers; Samsung recently won Japan’s Preferred Networks as a customer for its 2nm node. The Japanese company plans to use TSMC’s node for its Gen 2 AI chip but the follow-up will use Samsung’s 2nm.
