As a provider of advanced microprocessors, Intel wants to cooperate with chip designer ARM over several technology generations in the long term. The partnership is intended to cover the ARM cores that are in demand throughout the industry. These are to be manufactured according to the specifications of the current chip generation, the 18A node from Intel.
As a result, users of ARM designs, i.e. fabless manufacturers without their own production facilities, would have direct access to Intel's latest technology nodes and could participate in Intel's EMS service as a contract manufacturer as part of the IDM 2.0 strategy on the 'Intel Foundry Services'. Complex SoCs (system on chip) from ARM in the 18A process are to make the start, with further ARM designs for application areas such as automotive, the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and even mobile devices to follow. According to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, there is a growing demand for computing power, although fabless customers have so far only had limited options for manufacturing their chips. In the past, Intel itself has considered using external contract manufacturers for certain chip series in order to relieve the burden on its own production and make up for delivery delays.
The Intel-ARM cooperation agreement runs under the name DTCO ('design technology co-optimization'). It is intended to further improve the performance of selected ARM chip designs in terms of reduced chip area and power consumption as well as production costs. This makes Intel's 18A process generation with the PowerVia concept of power supply for the chip components and their structure as a ribbon FET with gate-all-around structure (GAA) even more attractive. The first 18A chips from Intel are scheduled for release in Q4-2024. It is not yet known when the first products from the cooperation with ARM will be released.
Intel suffered significant losses in earnings in the first quarter of 2023. Revenue fell by 36% compared to 2022 to USD 11.7 billion, with a quarterly loss of USD 2.8 billion. One reason for this is the declining demand for PCs and the large server farms. On the other hand, huge expansions into new and expanded fabs are on the cards, including in Germany.
In connection with this, albeit in a different direction, ARM announced its intention to develop its own chips and manufacture them with partners at the end of April 2023. This would be a drastic departure from the previous business model. According to a report in the Financial Times, a test chip or prototype already exists. So far, ARM has cooperated with Samsung and TSMC in this respect, but only to support their software development. There are no plans to market these chips, as this would turn ARM from a supplier into a competitor to its customers.
