Industry Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Threatens to Fire Anyone Whose Chip Exceeds B0 Stepping, as 14A’s ‘Holy Grail’ PDK 0.9 Lands October 2026 Hassan Mujtaba • at EDT Add on Google Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has set a tight policy for his Foundry, firing anyone whose products don't meet quality standards. Intel CEO Confirms Next-Gen 10A & 7A Process Technologies & Calls 14A PDK 0.9 "The Holy Grail", Coming October 2026 During a fireside chat at the J.P.Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications conference, Intel CEO highlighted some of the company's internal policies and upcoming updates from the Foundry end of the business. Related Story Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Calls Foundry a “National Treasure” as External Customers Knock on His Door After 18A Yield TurnaroundWhen asked about the progress on upcoming technologies, Intel's CEO reaffirmed that 14A is on track for risk production in 2028 and volume production in 2029. Intel's latest foundry process roadmap. Intel Corporation In yesterday's interview with Jim Cramer, Lip-Bu said that it's a big breakthrough for them that their 14A process will be rolling out at the same time as TSMC's A14, both of which are 1.4nm technologies. The company has said that they are already in talks with major customers, including Apple and TeraFab. But good news, 14A, my risk production is 2028 and volume production in 2029 is about the same time as A14 from TSMC. And then now I'm starting to work at the 10A, 7A, the roadmap. Lip-Bu Tan - Intel CEO Looking ahead, Lip-Bu name-dropped two future process technologies, 10A (1.0nm) and 7A (0.7nm). The company is yet to issue a roadmap or timeline on when we should expect these technologies, but leading firms such as TSMC are estimated to roll out their A10 process (1.0nm) by 2031 and A7 (0.7nm) by 2034. A more detailed Logic Device roadmap can be found here. TSMC has also started to invest heavily into Ultra Advanced nodes such as 1nm and sub-1nm as per a recent report. People don't go to you just one node. They're looking for the roadmap for the future. So we have to build a long-term business. The other part is also a very happy surprise for me. We have a very good advanced packaging. Lip-Bu Tan - Intel CEO Lip-Bu also stresses that when customers approach a foundry, they don't just go to one node; they are also looking at a roadmap for the future, so they have to build a long-term business. And Intel is one of the few that is offering both advanced process technology and advanced processing technologies with solutions such as EMIB, Foveros, and more. The company is also investing heavily in Glass Substrates to roll out by 2030. Yesterday, we reported how several customers are pre-paying Intel for additional substrate supply as the firm is running into shortages due to overwhelming demand from the AI supercycle. As for 14A's PDK progress, Lip-Bu said that the 0.5 PDK has been outside early this year, and they are now expecting to release the 0.9 PDK around October 2026 to outside customers. And for internal customers, it will be rolled out earlier. Lip-Bu calls the 0.9 PDK the "Holy Grail" of 14A. So we are making good progress. The holy grail is 0.9 PDK. Right now, we're looking at October to the outside customer. Lip-Bu Tan - Intel CEO Intel's CEO also highlights some of the internal policy changes he made since he joined the company. The policy shifts are more towards the Foundry side of the business, which wasn't as effective in the prior days. We have seen multiple Intel products breach past the B0 stepping as more design changes needed to be made, and this caused lots of delays, and sometimes, straight-up product cancellations. Lip-Bu says that under him, Intel will follow a stricter and more effective roadmap towards product launches. And of course, as you know, some of the products, if you design, it'll take about 12, 15 months to come out. So right now, I'm working on it. Hopefully, some of the new products, products can come out and really meet the schedule, meet the timetable, and the performance. And one thing about timetable, I have a culture right now, I just implemented. I have to be A0 to production. Now, A0 is when you tape out first-time parts. And Intel don't have that culture. So I kind of said, well, first-time part, A0. B0, you keep your job. Anything above that, you're fired. So that culture people initially thought that I'm just joking. Lip-Bu Tan - Intel CEO He will give around 12-15 months for a product to come out, the first stage of which is "A0". A0 is the tape-out of the chip, and Lip-Bu says the very next stage should go into production. So that's A0 to B0, no more steppings. Lip-Bu is serious about this and says that he is implementing it right now, where if you have a product with B0 stepping, you keep your job, but anything beyond that, you will be fired. An Intel factory employee holds a wafer with 3D stacked Foveros technology at an Intel fab in Hillsboro, Oregon, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency, and sustainability. ( Intel Corporation) When Lip-Bu first started to hint at this policy, many at Intel thought he was joking, but now that he is actually implementing it, everyone knows that Lip-Bu is serious, and the teams are working extra hard to make sure that bugs are fixed within time so that products get rolled out as per schedule. This shows just how important the Foundry Business and its effectiveness are to Lip-Bu, and he is making some real changes at the company to ensure that existing and new customers are confident in the company, taking it as a serious semiconductor hub that can challenge the likes of TSMC. About the : A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as 's for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking. Follow on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds. Further Reading Apple Taps Intel 18A-P For M7 Chip By 2027 & 14A For iPhone Chip By 2028, Claims Rumor Elon Musk Just Visited Intel’s Oregon Fab, The Same Fab Producing Cutting-Edge Panther Lake & Next-Gen Chips on 18A Intel’s Comeback Had A Trump & Musk Factor, But CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s Biggest Oppurtunity Lies Ahead Intel Places Huge Order For Equipment Related To Advanced Packaging Production, Signaling Huge Interest in EMIB Read all on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Threatens to Fire Anyone Whose Chip Exceeds B0 Stepping, as 14A’s ‘Holy Grail’ PDK 0.9 Lands October 2026
