Rumor: Intel outsources part of 14nm chipset production to TSMC

Intel is reportedly enlisting Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC to make 14nm chipsets, because it has insufficient capacity itself. PC manufacturers would face delays in processor deliveries.

According to DigiTimes, the demand for 14nm chip products is 50 percent higher than the company can meet. Intel would therefore outsource part of the production of its 300 Series chipsets to TSMC. Intel previously engaged the Taiwanese chip giant to make its SoFia socs for mobiles and FPGAs. Motherboard makers should expect shortages to ease by the end of this year.

There have been reports of shortages of 14nm chips from Intel for weeks. An analyst forecast shortages in the third quarter due to high demand for products from Intel’s Data Center Group and Client Computing Group. DigiTimes already wrote about laptop manufacturers’ fears that their shipments in the second half of this year would suffer from a shortage of 14nm chips.

At the end of July, Intel itself said when discussing its quarterly results that its “biggest challenge in the second half of the year was to meet the additional demand.” Demand for chips for the data center market is growing faster than expected and the PC market is also performing better than Intel had planned.

What matters is that Intel has postponed its 10nm production until 2019, which puts greater pressure on 14nm production. In addition, from the Coffee Lake S, H, U and R generations and for Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake, Intel makes the pch at 14nm, while it was still made at 22nm with previous processor generations. In addition, Intel produces the XMM 7560 modem on its 14nm process. This is most likely the modem that Apple uses in its upcoming iPhones.