Intel unveiled key details Thursday of its upcoming Panther Lake laptop processor, the first chip built on its next-generation 18A production process. The rollout aims to convince investors its costly turnaround plan can restore manufacturing edge.
Panther Lake targets high-end, artificial intelligence-enabled laptops and represents a major test of Intel’s ability to scale 18A manufacturing technology and reclaim PC market share lost to rival AMD. The processor will begin ramping up production this year, with first units shipping before year-end and broad availability from January 2026.
Intel said graphics and central processors integrated in Panther Lake deliver 50% faster performance than its previous generation, Lunar Lake, which was largely made by rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The 18A process includes a new transistor design and a method of delivering energy more efficiently.
“Panther Lake is extremely important to Intel on many different levels,” said Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research. It could serve as “confirmation of the company’s continued advancements in semiconductor manufacturing and show the kind of chips that their fabs can produce.”
New CEO Lip-Bu Tan has sharply scaled back the massive manufacturing expansion pushed by predecessor Pat Gelsinger. In July, Intel warned it would halt development of its future 14A process unless it gets a customer.
Intel’s chip manufacturing facility in Arizona, known as Fab 52, is now fully operational and set to reach high-volume production using 18A later this year. Intel’s new server processor Clearwater Forest, launching in the first half of 2026, is also being made at Fab 52.
