Intel Foundry Announces Strategic Partnership With The Taiwanese Semiconductor Giant UMC

Intel Foundry has announced a "strategic" collaboration with the famous Taiwanese semiconductor firm UMC as they vow to move together in semiconductor development.

Intel Foundry Expands Its Ambitions Through Collaborating With a Key Player In The Semiconductor Industry

[Press Release]: Intel Corp. and United Microelectronics Corporation (“UMC”), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced that they will collaborate on the development of a 12-nanometer semiconductor process platform to address high-growth markets such as mobile, communication infrastructure, and networking.

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The long-term agreement brings together Intel’s at-scale U.S. manufacturing capacity and UMC’s extensive foundry experience on mature nodes to enable an expanded process portfolio. It also offers global customers greater choice in their sourcing decisions with access to a more geographically diversified and resilient supply chain.

The 12 nm node will utilize Intel’s U.S.-based high-volume manufacturing capacity and experience in FinFET transistor design, offering a strong combination of maturity, performance, and power efficiency. The production will markedly benefit from UMC’s decades of process leadership and history of providing customers with Process Design Kit (PDK) and design assistance for effectively providing foundry services. The new process node will be developed and manufactured in Fabs 12, 22, and 32 at Intel’s Ocotillo Technology Fabrication site in Arizona. Leveraging existing equipment in these fabs will significantly reduce upfront investment requirements and optimize utilization.

The two companies will work to satisfy customer demand and cooperate on design enablement to support the 12 nm process by enabling electronic design automation and intellectual property solutions from ecosystem partners. Production of the 12 nm process is expected to begin in 2027.

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