For just over two years, Intel has been following a battle plan to turn around one of America's technology flagships.
Returning to the fold after a decade at the helm of VMWare, Pat Gelsinger has been CEO of Intel since February 2021, but was an Intel employee for over thirty years, including a role in the design of the 80486 processor, so engineering is an important issue for him. As soon as he took over at Intel, Pat Gelsinger launched the idea of a complete overhaul of the way in which a group that had been number one in the semiconductor sector for many years, but which then suffered from numerous technical problems, would operate. At a conference organized for investors, several Intel executives explained the strategy that Pat Gelsinger has been implementing for the past two years, and which, according to the company at least, is beginning to bear fruit. The TechPowerUp website has managed to obtain some of the slides from this conference, and presents the main points.
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David Zinsner and Jason Grebe - CFO and General Manager of Intel's Enterprise Planning Group, respectively - clearly reaffirmed Intel's number-one objective in its major plan to "get back on track",Integrated Device Manufacturing or IDM 2.0. The main aim is to regain second place in the semiconductor foundry sector behind Taiwanese giant TSMC, but ahead of South Korea's Samsung Group. To achieve this, the company is reviewing its business model and focusing on future technological innovations. Intel aims to regain technological leadership with the launch of the Intel 18A etching process. David Zinsner and Jason Grebe recalled that Intel has always been well ahead of TSMC, and that its downgrading is linked to successive delays, particularly in the 10 nm etching process. TSMC took advantage of this to take the lead and consolidate its technical advantage.
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Intel confirms that with the Intel 4 processor - scheduled for the Meteor Lake generation - there will be no question of taking the lead from TSMC, any more than with the Intel 3, which should still be two or three quarters behind TSMC's 3 nm technology. The Intel 20A should close the gap to a few weeks, and it is with the Intel 18A - by 2025 - that Intel aims to gain the upper hand over its competitor, which should be on TSMC's 2 nm process. That's for the technological aspect.
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The other big change at Intel concerns the organization of the Group's main divisions. For example, IFS(Intel Foundtry Services) is to become a major supplier for all design companies in the sector. Of course, Intel the chip designer will be one of its main customers, but it will also have a role in risk-taking: the idea is for Intel to test new technologies on its own products, so that IFS is then in a position to provide impeccable service to all its customers. David Zinsner and Jason Grebe then raised the question of the proximity between Intel the chip designer and Intel the foundry. The two hosts insisted on the compartmentalization of activities to ensure that " customer data and intellectual property " are secure, before specifying that " world-class " service and support are required to inspire confidence in future customers. This need for confidentiality will also be reflected in IFS's operations, which are set to become increasingly distinct from the rest of the Group.
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David Zinsner and Jason Grebe spoke of a " new operating model " for IFS, which is to become an " almost separate business entity with its own profit and loss statement ". This means that we are no longer very far from two independent companies, and the question of why the two companies shouldn't actually be separated was raised repeatedly during the conference. However, David Zinsner believes that "there are many advantages to combining design and manufacturing activities, especially as Intel acts as a zero customer ", wiping the slate clean for other customers. If the Intel Group wants to continue its transformation, there seems to be no question of following the same path as AMD when its long-standing rival split into two entities: GlobalFoundries encompassed all production structures, while AMD merely designed chips. However, AMD retained a share in GlobalFoundries... until March 2012 (four years after the first split), when AMD sold its last 14% stake in GlobalFoundries.
