Intel lists Panther Lake as a 2026 product as 18A enters “risk production” – Panther Lake will launch this year

Intel’s 18A node has entered “risk” production, paving the way to Panther Lake mass production

Intel confirmed at its “Vision 2025” event that its 18A lithography node has entered risk production. This means that Intel’s 18A technology is ready for production, and Intel merely needs to scale up production to higher volumes. At the event, Intel listed Panther Lake as a 2026 product, with high-volume supply starting in that year. That said, Panther Lake will launch in 2025.

Intel has confirmed to us that Panther Lake will be launching this year, and that Panther Lake products will be available in higher volumes in 2026. This will make Panther Lake’s launch similar to Lunar Lake’s launch, with product availability starting in 2024 and high volume availability coming later.

Intel has confirmed that customers have validated the company’s 18A lithography node, certifying it as good enough for production. This is good news for Intel, as this should mean that Intel will be producing silicon for 3rd parties in the near future.

Intel has also stated that Panther Lake should deliver major benefits over its existing products. Panther Lake reportedly delivers the power efficiency of Lunar Lake and the performance of Arrow Lake. Furthermore, it will boast a next-generation NPU for boosted AI performance and a stronger integrated graphics solution.

Risk production, while it sounds scary, is actually an industry standard terminology, and the importance of risk production is we’ve gotten the technology to a point where we’re freezing it,

Our customers have validated that, ‘Yep, 18 A is good enough for my product.’ And we have to now do the ‘risk’ part, which is to scale it from making hundreds of units per day to thousands, tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands. So risk production is scaling our manufacturing up and ensuring that we can meet not just the capabilities of the technology, but the capabilities at scale.

– Kevin O’Buckley – Intel’s Senior Vice President of Foundry Services

The success of Panther Lake and 18A is critical to Intel’s future. To succeed as a company, Intel needs strong products and strong foundry offerings. Without both, Intel cannot reclaim its dominant position in the PC market.

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