The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →In September 2024, Reuters reported that Broadcom had judged early Intel 18A wafer results unsuitable for high-volume production. Intel said the process was healthy and on schedule. Those claims addressed different stages of manufacturing: Intel later said 18A entered high-volume production in late 2025, but that milestone does not establish what Broadcom saw in 2024 or prove that Intel’s foundry business had become commercially competitive.
What Broadcom reportedly found in its 18A evaluation
Reuters reported on September 4, 2024, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter, that Broadcom had received wafers processed using Intel’s 18A manufacturing process in August. After evaluating them, Broadcom reportedly concluded that the process was not yet viable for high-volume production. Broadcom said its evaluation was not complete. Reuters could not determine whether Broadcom had ended discussions with Intel as a potential supplier.
This was a foundry-process evaluation, not evidence that a finished Broadcom commercial chip had failed or that every Intel 18A chip was defective. A customer can assess whether a process meets its design’s electrical, performance, reliability, consistency, and volume requirements. The public report did not identify the precise technical issue or publish Broadcom’s test results. Reuters’ report republished by Investing.com describes the reported assessment and the companies’ responses.
The reported 20% figure is not an official Intel yield number
A later Reuters special report cited people briefed on the results who said no more than 20% of chips printed using 18A passed Broadcom’s early tests. That figure was not disclosed by Broadcom or Intel, and the report does not establish whether it represented die yield, a particular test structure, a limited sample, or a broader production measure. It should not be treated as the mature yield of all 18A products. The later Reuters report attributes the figure to unnamed sources.
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What Intel said—and what it did not disclose
Intel responded that 18A was “powered on, healthy and yielding well,” and said it remained on track for high-volume manufacturing in 2025. The company also cited broad industry interest but declined to discuss specific customer conversations, according to Reuters’ September 2024 report.
That was Intel’s characterization of its process-development status, not a public technical rebuttal of Broadcom’s evaluation. Intel did not release a numerical yield figure or Broadcom-specific results. The public record at the time therefore contained a reported customer concern and Intel’s contrary assessment, but no disclosed data that would settle the disagreement.
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Why yield determines whether a chip process can scale
Yield is not one universal number. It describes different stages of the question: how many defects occur, how many dies work, how many meet specifications, and whether the usable output can be produced economically. A node can produce functioning chips yet remain unsuitable for a customer’s target volume, cost, or delivery schedule.
- Defect density: defects measured across a defined area of wafer or silicon. It helps explain why larger dies are often more exposed to defects.
- Functional die yield: the share of dies that operate rather than failing basic tests.
- Parametric yield: the share that meets required limits such as speed, power, voltage, and leakage.
- Economic yield: whether the usable chips, at the required volume and cost, make a production program viable.
Low yield can increase the cost per working chip, consume capacity, create delivery risk, and reduce margins. For high-volume manufacturing, a process must also deliver consistent results at scale. Intel’s statement that the node was “yielding well” and a customer’s judgment that it was not ready for that customer’s intended production could therefore both describe different criteria, designs, or points in process development.
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Why an early customer test does not decide a node’s future
Yield varies with the design being manufactured: die area, complexity, memory and analog content, process layers, packaging, test requirements, and design-for-manufacturing maturity all matter. A large networking chip can behave differently from an Intel client processor. The available reporting does not establish whether Broadcom’s test exposed a broad process limitation or a problem specific to its design and requirements.
Process development normally involves learning from test chips, tuning equipment and process windows, reducing defects, and refining design rules before and during production ramp. A disappointing early result can be meaningful evidence that a process is not ready for a particular customer at that time; it is not proof that the node is permanently unusable. “Not ready for high volume” is also not the same as “unable to make working chips.”
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- Up to 5.6 GHz with Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 gives you smooth game play, high frame rates, and rapid responsiveness
- Compatible with Intel 600-series (with potential BIOS update) or 700-series chipset-based motherboards
- DDR4 and DDR5 platform support cuts your load times and gives you the space to run the most demanding games
Why 18A mattered to Intel
Intel positioned 18A as central to its manufacturing recovery, its own product roadmap, and its effort to attract external foundry customers. The node combines RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors with PowerVia backside power delivery, according to Intel’s 2025 annual filing. Its importance was not just technical: Intel needed to show that it could develop a leading-edge process, manufacture products on it, and persuade outside customers to commit designs.
Those are separate milestones. Making Intel’s own products on 18A can support process learning and production experience. It does not automatically establish that an outside customer’s design will qualify, that Intel can meet that customer’s delivery and cost targets, or that external foundry work will be profitable.
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- Compatible with Intel 600-series (with potential BIOS update) or 700-series chipset-based motherboards
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What happened after the 2024 report
Intel’s later disclosures show that the process advanced into production, while also indicating that the ramp remained a work in progress.
| Milestone | What the public record says |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | Intel said 18A remained on track for high-volume manufacturing in 2025; Broadcom said its evaluation was unfinished. Reuters report |
| Mid-2025 | Intel said it was continuing to make progress on 18A yield and performance targets. Intel Q2 2025 earnings-call materials |
| Late 2025 | Intel’s annual filing says 18A entered high-volume manufacturing in late 2025. Intel 2025 Form 10-K |
| Fourth quarter 2025 | Intel’s earnings materials describe an early 18A ramp and initial Core Ultra Series 3 products made on the process; Intel also reported a $2.5 billion Intel Foundry operating loss for the quarter, with the early 18A ramp cited as a driver. Intel Q4 2025 earnings-call materials |
| June 2026 | Intel Foundry’s archive records 18A-P entering risk production. Risk production is a development milestone, not by itself evidence of broad commercial adoption. Intel Foundry archive |
Intel’s late-2025 high-volume manufacturing milestone demonstrates that 18A progressed to commercial production for Intel products. It does not show that Broadcom’s 2024 assessment was wrong when made: the evaluation and production milestone were separated by more than a year, during which process development and yield learning could continue. Nor does internal production establish successful qualification or competitive economics for an external customer. Intel’s 2025 filing said it had few external foundry customers to date.
What the Broadcom episode does—and does not—establish
The report was a serious warning about 18A’s readiness for Broadcom’s intended high-volume use in 2024, but it was not proof that Intel’s entire process was unusable. Intel’s later production milestone supports the view that the node matured; it does not answer what Broadcom measured, whether Broadcom ultimately selected Intel, or whether Intel can turn internal manufacturing progress into a profitable external foundry business.
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