Intel cutting cutting-edge node funds would mean no more Moore's Law

Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan has warned that he may pull investment from Intel's leading-edge 14A semiconductor process node unless "a meaningful external customer" can guarantee profits – a move which may finally spell the end of the chipmaker's loyal adherence to Moore's Law.

"Our external foundry strategy has always been rooted in the economic reality of semiconductor manufacturing," Tan told listeners during the company's Q2 2025 earnings call late last week. "Up to and through Intel 18A, we could generate a reasonable return on our investments with only Intel products. The increase in capital costs at Intel 14A make it clear [however] that we need both Intel products and a meaningful external customer to drive acceptable returns on our deployed capital. And I will only invest when I'm confident those returns exist."

It's an admission for which Intel had already offered advanced warning: back ...