8
Verge Score
Asus made all the right tweaks, and the new Panther Lake chip delivers.
The first chip of Intel’s 18A process is speedy, even on battery power. And it’s a solid option for 1080p gaming.
During an earnings call on Thursday, Intel CFO David Zisner says the company was “relatively aggressive in terms of getting memory” ahead of the global shortage for its previous-gen Lunar Lake chips, which come with integrated RAM.
The company doesn’t have to worry about securing memory for its new Panther Lake laptop processors after Intel ditched the built-in memory design.
The chipmaker’s Q4 2025 earnings report reveals that it earned $13.7 billion in revenue over the past few months, a dip from the $14.3 billion it made at the same time last year.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan says the company is “working aggressively to grow supply” of chips built on its 18A process, including its new Panther Lake laptop CPUs.
In the spring, Reuters broke the news that Nvidia and Broadcom were testing Intel’s 18A process for chip production, but in a profile today of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the outlet now says Nvidia’s test has ended, regardless of their new $5 billion deal.
The report doesn’t say why, but in October, Intel CFO David Zinsner said 18A yields were “not where we need them to be to drive the appropriate level of margins,” and that it could be 2026 or 2027 before that changes.
Two revolving doors in a single press release? Robin Colwell, an economic advisor during both Trump terms (and a lobbyist between them) is now Intel’s SVP of Government Affairs, after Trump shook down Intel for 10 percent. Annie Weckesser is now SVP of marketing and communications — she was CMO at SambaNova, a AI chip startup that Intel’s reportedly about to buy.
Back in the mists of time, in ancient 2009, the European Union fined Intel €1.06 billion ($1.2 billion) for anticompetitive behaviors. The two have been in court ever since, and after Intel got the fine cut to €376 million, it’s now dropped again to €237.1 million ($275 million). How low can it go?
Is the promise of jobs worth all the water and chemicals it takes to manufacture chips in the Arizona desert?
The ex-Intel CEO said in a recent speech that he believes Jesus appeared “because of the Roman roads.” Now, his mission is to work on tech that would “...hasten the coming of Christ’s return,” with a startup that filed for its IPO this week.
My question is, does that seem easier or harder than delivering on Lunar Lake and 18A?
While we wait to see if Intel’s all-important 18A Panther Lake chips make a dent, the company is temporarily back in black, thanks to $5.7B of the money Trump used to shake down Intel for a stake, $5.2B from selling Altera, and $2B from Softbank. Foundry is still losing money.
That’s according to a report from Semafor, which says the discussions are still at an “early stage.” Intel doesn’t have the technology to support AMD’s most advanced processors, which are mostly produced by the Taiwan-based TSMC, Semafor reports.
He’s already handing out free passes on chip tariffs and security concerns if chipmakers make him look good or pay a possibly illegal export tax. Now, he apparently wants chipmakers to “manufacture the same number of semiconductors in the U.S. as their customers import from overseas producers.” WSJ reports:
Under the new system, if a company pledged to build one million chips in the U.S., it would essentially be credited with that amount over time so the company and its customers could import until its plant was completed without paying tariffs, the people said.
Here’s a look at the small, affluent Ohio town Intel selected for the “largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet” back in 2022. Things are just as tumultuous as you’d expect, but nobody is promising to develop an AI 8K+5G ecosystem... yet.
Now, the biggest economic-development project in Ohio history is on uncertain ground as the chip maker struggles to keep pace with rivals. Some residents question whether the project will be completed, or whether Intel will own it when it is.
Sources tell Bloomberg that Intel and Apple held discussions about “how to work more closely together,” though the talks are reportedly still at an early stage. Nvidia, SoftBank, and the US government have already injected billions of dollars into Intel as it attempts to revitalize its struggling chipmaking business.
“What sort of involvement did the Trump Administration have in this agreement?” asked the FT’s Michael Acton on the call. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang:
The Trump Administration had no involvement in the partnership at all, and they would have been very supportive, of course. And today I had the opportunity to tell Secretary Lutnick, and he was very excited, very supportive of seeing American technology companies working together.
I’m on the call where Nvidia and Intel are explaining their $5B deal, but the call began with a hot mic:
His majesty was delightful. The cognac was excellent, but just not enough of it. I guess the cognac was from 1912.
Huang joined Trump’s state visit to London this week.
She didn’t say why, but Intel’s Michelle Johnston Holthaus is leaving less than a year after she got promoted to CEO of Intel Products. (It’s possible cost-cutting Intel CEO Tan threw some of her plans out the window.) The only remaining female top exec is the company’s chief legal officer, The Oregonian reports.
During a conference on Thursday, Intel CFO David Zinsner confirmed receiving the investment as part of the US government’s plan to take a 10 percent stake in the struggling chipmaker. The investment stems from the $5.7 billion grant the US government promised Intel under the CHIPS Act.
Bloomberg reports that the investment could come from converting “some or all” of Intel’s CHIPS Act grants into equity, potentially making the US government the struggling chipmaker’s largest shareholder.
Sources tell Bloomberg that the discussion comes from President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan, which Trump called a “success.” It’s not clear how big the stake would be, but it could give Intel a much-needed lifeline as it lays off thousands and axes planned projects.
Did he promise Trump something during the meeting?
Trump, August 7th: “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem.”
According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, after the president called for Lip-Bu Tan to resign last week, they’ll meet for a “wide-ranging conversation with Trump, with the intent of explaining his personal and professional background.”
Maybe Tan could offer a 15 percent cut -- it worked for Nvidia and AMD.
Two credit agencies have downgraded Intel’s credit rating to “BBB,” two notches above junk status. (Once companies reach “BB,” they’re no longer considered “safe” investments.) One noted Intel needs “stronger end markets and successful product ramps” to recover.
But Intel appears to be losing market share to AMD, and a new Reuters report suggests it’s struggling to get its 18A process ready for next-gen Panther Lake. (Intel says it’s confident in Panther Lake, though.)
Meanwhile, Intel is shedding more employees and halting investments where it doesn’t have ready customers.
Intel is cutting tens of thousands of employees, cutting investment around the world, and moving away from entire businesses too. After shutting down its automotive chipmaking business and spinning out its RealSense computer vision business, it’s now spinning out its networking business too, reports CRN, with Reuters and TechCrunch corroborating. Intel’s also selling off its majority stake in Altera, and finished off selling its flash memory business this year.
Lip-Bu Tan on today’s earnings call:
I’m also instituting a policy. Every major chip design needs to be personally reviewed and approved by me before tape out.
He says it’ll move Intel “back towards a first time right mindset,” and that he’s already “taken steps to correct past mistakes regarding multi-threading capabilities” in future chips. Tan has a background in chip design and was CEO of chip design company Cadence for a decade.
