Intel 18A yield reportedly reaches 85%

KeyBanc Capital Markets says Intel’s 18A process yield has climbed from 65% to 85%, narrowing the gap with TSMC’s N2 at 90% and moving well ahead of Samsung Foundry’s SF2 at 50% to 60%. The improvement is positioning Intel as a stronger second-source option as TSMC’s advanced-process capacity remains constrained.

Intel has reportedly shifted its Nova Lake plans, bringing 80% to 90% of die orders back to its own foundry after previously planning to outsource approximately 60% to 70% to TSMC. KeyBanc also says Intel has secured design orders from AMD, Nvidia, Marvell, Microsoft, Micron, OpenAI and Apple, spanning CPUs, GPUs, memory and AI accelerators.

Intel’s EMIB-T advanced packaging yield has reached 98%, comparable with TSMC’s CoWoS packaging yield of 98% to 99%. The Trump administration is also pushing Intel to expand advanced packaging capacity in the United States, particularly at its New Mexico plant.

KeyBanc raised its Intel price target from $110 (approximately NT$3,500) to $155 (approximately NT$5,000), citing AI server demand, yield gains, customer wins and price increases. Intel expects agentic AI to drive 25% to 30% growth in its CPU business this year, followed by another 50% growth next year.