Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger spoke about some key brand news for the future during a Q4 earnings conference on Thursday, highlighting future chip designs for the consumer and data center markets.
The first spotlight was for the start of production of the 14th generation Meteor Lake processors, for desktops and laptops, based on the Intel 4 process—at 4 nanometers. The first stage of production should start in the last months of 2022.
In addition, the CEO took the opportunity to talk about the Xeon CPUs, also called Granite Rapids here, which use a more advanced 3nm process. In this case, these chips intended for servers promise a big leap in performance, but they will only stay for 2024. The processors will also have Sierra Forest efficiency cores with a new hybrid architecture. More advanced production, with Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) machines, should also directly impact the price and complexity of these components.
Still talking about 2024, Intel also mentioned that it is working on more advanced technologies for 18A and 20A nodes, with the new RibbonFET and PowerVia systemspromising to improve energy efficiency by up to 15% in home and professional processors.
First, though, the Xeon Emeral Rapids and Sapphire Rapids are expected to arrive next year on the same platform, allowing users to select from a diverse portfolio of scalable processor SKUs.
On the more market side, Intel took the opportunity to announce that it welcomes NVIDIA in a partnership related to IFS, the brand’s foundry services, through the RAMP-C program.
“[O programa] enables commercial foundry customers and the US Department of Defense to leverage Intel’s scaled investments in leading-edge technologies. Since Q2, IFS has expanded engagements to seven of the top 10 foundry customers, along with consistent pipeline growth to include 35 customer test chips. In addition, IFS has increased eligible opportunities by $1 billion to more than $7 billion in business value,” said Intel’s CEO.
