Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan sends message to TSMC: ‘Our 14A process is a major, major …'

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has declared that the company’s massive gamble on manufacturing chips for other tech firms is finally paying off, setting up a direct, head-to-head battle with industry kingpin Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Speaking with CNBC, Tan revealed that Intel's upcoming, next-generation 14A manufacturing process can easily compete with progressing so fast that it will debut at the exact same time as TSMC equivalent technology.“It will be the same time as TSMC,” Tan said, adding, “That is a major, major breakthrough.”The manufacturing arm of Intel, known as its "foundry" business, is the most expensive and crucial piece of the company’s comeback strategy. Historically, Intel only used its factories to build its own computer processors. However, the company shifted strategies to open its doors to outside clients, aiming to claw back advanced chip production from Asia.A major turning point for the company has been the stabilisation of its current-generation 18A manufacturing process. Tan admitted that when he first took over the company, the state of the 18A process was “not good.”The biggest hurdle was “yield”, which is the percentage of usable, non-defective chips produced from each silicon wafer. High yields are the difference between making a massive profit or burning billions of dollars.“The best practice is to see a 7% or 8% yield improvement per month, and now I’m seeing it,” Tan explained.This sudden factory efficiency is already turning heads in Silicon Valley. Reports recently surfaced in the Wall Street Journal indicating that Intel has signed a preliminary blockbuster deal with Apple to produce its next-generation chips, which can be a massive blow to TSMC, which currently enjoys exclusive rights to Apple's silicon business.While Tan declined to mention Apple by name, he confirmed that a wave of major tech firms is rushing to sign up. “Multiple customers, they are working with us. We are looking forward to serving them,” Tan said. Intel is expected to announce several firm corporate commitments in the second half of this year.