Intel's "ousted" CEO Pat Gelsinger came out to defend previous media reports that Intel's foundry's 18A "yield rate" was only 10%, saying that the team was "doing incredible work."
Intel is embroiled in a lot of controversy these days, especially around the company's business. Initially, the company suffered a wave of financial problems, and then former CEO Pat Gelsinger decided to step down under pressure from the board of directors. Recently, the yield rate of Intel's 18A process, which was supposed to be a breakthrough in the department, was less than 10%, which was called "horrible" by the media. However, Gelsinger stood up to defend 18A, claiming that the rumors of low yield were untrue, at least not comprehensive.
In reply to a post by famous analyst Patrick Moorhead, Gelsinger said that Intel's 18A was not tested on PDK1.0, but was tested on an older design kit, so the yield data is so low.
Previous reports stated that Broadcom tested Intel's 18A process, but the results were disappointing. The main problem lies in the yield rate. A yield rate of only 10% means that Intel cannot yet carry out mass production, not to mention that the yield rate of large-size chips will be even lower.
Interestingly, former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger decided to jump off the topic and said he was proud of the "18A team" and its incredible progress, implying that the actual situation was different from what the mainstream media said. In another reply to prominent analyst Dan Nystedt, Gelsinger claimed that calculating process factors based on yield is incorrect because "yield is lower for larger chips and higher for smaller chips."
Gelsinger was a strong advocate of Intel's foundries, saying he wanted to make the unit "the world's largest" by 2030, but he was forced to leave the company last week. Intel is expected to adopt an aggressive strategy in the future and is likely to adopt a "sector restructuring" policy, which may lead to the sale of IFS.