The relatively new Intel Foundry division received an important order from a large company, namely Microsoft. CEO Satya Nadella announced that his company will use Intel's latest 18A (1.8 nm) process technology for future in-house chip development that Intel estimates will cost more than $15 billion. But given Intel's technology roadmap, that means we likely won't see a new Microsoft chip until 2025.
While neither company has revealed the nature of said silicon, Microsoft unveiled its own Azure Maia AI Accelerator and Azure Cobalt 100 CPU server chips last November, with deployment expected sometime early this year. The Cobalt 100 is based on the Arm architecture, and it just so happens that Intel has been optimizing its 18A process node for Arm's design since April last year (it even became an Arm investor later), so there's a good chance this collaboration could lead to the next generation Cobalt processor. reports Engadget.
In addition to the usual efficiency gains with reduced node size, the Intel 18A also offers an “industry-first rear power solution” that separates the power interconnect layer from the data interconnect layer at the top and moves the former under the silicon substrate . This allows for improved voltage regulation and reduced resistance, resulting in faster logic and lower power consumption, especially with 3D stacking.
On the fourth-quarter earnings call, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger reiterated expectations that “18A will reach production readiness in the second half of '24.” Given that Intel's own 18A-based processors—Clearwater Forest for servers and Panther Lake for clients—won't arrive until 2025, that's also likely to be a window of time for Microsoft's chip.
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