Microsoft will use Intel Foundry to make its own chip using the Intel 18A process

Today, Intel announced its renamed chip-making business as Intel Foundry. Formerly known as Intel Foundry Services, the company claims the revamped business is the "world’s first systems foundry for the AI era."

However, this announcement was somewhat superseded by the fact that Microsoft will be the first revealed customer of Intel Foundry. Intel says Microsoft will use its Intel 18A process with its foundry so that Microsoft can create its own chip.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appeared virtually at the Intel Foundry Direct Connect event to officially confirm this news. In a statement on Intel's press release, Nadella is quoted as saying:

We are in the midst of a very exciting platform shift that will fundamentally transform productivity for every individual organization and the entire industry . . To achieve this vision, we need a reliable supply of the most advanced, high-performance and high-quality semiconductors. That’s why we are so excited to work with Intel Foundry, and why we have chosen a chip design that we plan to produce on Intel 18A process.

Microsoft did not reveal any details about this new chip that Intel Foundry will make for the company today. In November 2023, Microsoft announced two new custom-designed processors specifically designed for AI workloads.

Intel used today's event to also showcase its foundry roadmap for the next few years.The Intel 18A process will be ready for full product design later in 2024, The more advanced Intel 14A process was added to the roadmap today but it likely won't be ready for a while yet.

Intel revealed today a number of partners for the foundry business, including Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Ansys, Lorentz, and Keysight. All of these companies will offer "tool qualification and IP readiness" so customers like Microsoft will be able to speed up their chip designs based on the Intel 18A process.

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