Intel technology crisis will challenge TSMC, Samsung and others
Last week, Intel admitted that it is delaying the development of the 7nm process technology, and therefore is ready to actively use third-party services. TSMC is rightly considered the main contender for such a role, and the capacity of the contract services market can now increase by 20%.
Intel representatives liked to repeat that in recent years the company has received more than 20% of its revenue from the sale of products that it does not manufacture on its own. Now, if not the “most sacred”, then the critical can be outsourced. Some of the Ponte Vecchio GPU crystals, which were originally supposed to be produced using 7nm technology, will be manufactured by a third party.
Bernstein Research experts say that in terms of technology, Intel is now lagging behind TSMC by a year or two, and taking into account the timing of reducing the level of rejects to an acceptable value, this lag may be even greater. If Intel ever wants to outsource all manufacturing, experts say, it will increase the global semiconductor contract manufacturing market capacity by 20%. Considering that TSMC is already barely able to cope with the influx of customers at the most advanced technical processes, then such an expansion will require serious capital investments from contract manufacturers.
According to experts from China Renaissance Securities, even in the early stages, Intel’s need for third-party contractors will increase the market size for TSMC to $ 20 billion a year. Shares of TSMC against the background of similar expectations on Friday rose in price by 10%, even securities of Samsung Electronics strengthened by 2%. It is believed that both UMC and GlobalFoundries can get Intel orders for the release of secondary products. The latter on this list stands out as it grew out of AMD’s manufacturing facilities spun off from the company itself in 2009. The analytical community is actively discussing the idea of selling part of Intel’s manufacturing facilities in the foreseeable future.
The ubiquitous DigiTimes claims that Intel will place orders on the TSMC pipeline that involves the use of ultra-hard ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Intel has advanced in the development of EUV lithography, but it had to debut within its own 7-nm process technology. The processor giant later approached the transition to EUV later than its main competitors, although at one time more partners in the workshop invested in ASML, helping the manufacturer of lithographic scanners to master the production of the corresponding equipment.
