Intel announces 10 nanometer server chips in Q1

Intel Corp. said a server chip built with its best production technique will be available in high volumes in the first quarter, an attempt to convince customers that its manufacturing operations are recovering from long delays. The third generation of Xeon Scalable processors, dubbed Ice Lake, is undergoing a “ramp-up” on Intel’s 10-nanometer production, the company said Monday.

Advances in semiconductor manufacturing are measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter, with smaller and smaller transistors crammed onto wafers of silicon with each new iteration. It’s a key way for chipmakers to create faster, more efficient, and cheaper products.

Today marks an important milestone for Intel as we continue to accelerate delivery of our 10 nanometer products and maintain an urgent focus on execution to deliver a predictable pace of leadership products, said Navin Shenoy, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Data Platforms, Intel Group.

Intel’s data center business is its most profitable unit. Xeon chips are at the heart of giant server farms run by cloud providers such as Amazon.com Inc. and Google. These are the biggest buyers of these semiconductors, which can cost as much as a small car. However, these customers have started to design their own data center chips and often ask Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to manufacture the components. TSMC is ahead of Intel in production technology.

Intel executives have promised more regular updates to its Xeon roadmap with products delivering peak performance. The new models will have improved security, more computing cores, and be better suited to handle artificial intelligence workloads, Intel said Monday. Meanwhile, the world’s largest chipmaker has unveiled four new processors for devices ranging from educational laptops to gaming PCs.

By Ian King