Intel Denies Report Stating 10nm CPUs Are Dead

Intel is denying a report that the company is killing off its next-generation 10-nanometer CPUs.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said in a tweet Monday morning that reports claiming the company has ended work on its 10nm manufacturing process "are untrue."

"We are making good progress on 10nm. Yields are improving consistent with the timeline we shared during our last earnings report," Intel said in the tweet.

Media reports published today that Intel is ending work on the 10nm process are untrue. We are making good progress on 10nm. Yields are improving consistent with the timeline we shared during our last earnings report.
— Intel News (@intelnews) October 22, 2018

The semiconductor giant is responding to a report that originated from tech news site SemiAccurate.com claiming that Intel's 10nm process is "dead" based on information from "trusted moles." A free version of the article does not provide details on the alleged decision, but a subscription-only section of the report claims to explain why the end of Intel's 10nm work "is a good thing."

An Intel spokesman told CRN that the company has no further comment. The company is likely to share an update of its 10nm progress during its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

SemiAccurate.com's report comes after Intel executive Murthy Renduchintala told employees in an internal memo last Monday that the company is making "good progress" on its 10nm CPUs and remains on schedule for its previously announced plans of reaching mass production for the holiday 2019 season. The memo detailed the company's plans to reorganize its Technology and Manufacturing Group.

Intel's 10nm CPUs have received increased focus this year because of the company's multi-year delay of the next-generation chips, which were originally scheduled for launch in 2015. The company's manufacturing issues have galvanized competitor AMD, whose CEO is scheduled to deliver a keynote at CES 2019 on its next-generation 7nm CPUs and GPUs on Jan. 9, 2019.

"I think we do have the opportunity to be positioned much stronger than we originally anticipated," AMD CTO Mark Papermaster told CRN in an interview earlier this year, "but I have to say our original plan was to be positioned very strongly, so any delay from our competitor could simply strengthen the value that AMD brings to the market."

Intel has maintained that CPUs based on its current 14nm process, which was launched in 2014, will continue to deliver "performance" leadership with significant performance and processor improvements, as well as architectural advancements.

"I believe Intel over the years has delivered very consistent performance, price-performance benefit and will continue to do so," Jason Kimrey, Intel's U.S. channel chief, told CRN in an interview in August.

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