Intel's Lunar Lake CPU Outsourced to TSMC for 2024 Release

In a recent development, it has been disclosed that Intel's highly anticipated Lunar Lake, scheduled for release next year, will undergo mass production at TSMC, signaling a departure from Intel's conventional in-house manufacturing of CPU chips. If substantiated, TSMC stands to gain orders for CPU, GPU, and high-speed IO (PCH) chips for Intel's Lunar Lake, potentially amplifying TSMC's production capacity within the N3B process in the coming year.

Insiders in the tech industry suggest that TSMC is slated to produce CPU, GPU, and high-speed IO chips for Intel's Lunar Lake, utilizing the N3B process, with mass production expected to commence in the first half of the upcoming year.

Previously, Intel had exclusively outsourced GPU production to TSMC. For example, Meteor Lake featured GPU and high-speed IO chips manufactured using TSMC's 5nm process.

Intel has emphatically emphasized the strategic importance of advanced manufacturing, with key executives stating that global trends and the landscape of free trade can be leveraged by competitors. The challenges faced by TSMC in the forthcoming years are anticipated to be as formidable, if not more so, than those of previous years, according to statements made by Intel's leadership.

Under the stewardship of Gelsinger, Intel has outlined a four-year plan to advance its 5th generation process, achieving significant milestones. In addition to the successful deployment of the 10nm process into mass production, Intel's inaugural Intel 4 process, incorporating EUV equipment technology (equivalent to TSMC's 7nm), is already operational at the Oregon facility. Processors leveraging this cutting-edge technology, such as Meteor Lake, are poised for imminent release. The Intel 3 process is earmarked for data center applications, with processors codenamed Sierra Forest and Granite Rapids projected for shipment in the first half of the coming year.