Intel’s next-generation client processor, Panther Lake, remains on track for release in the second half of 2025, with yields progressing as expected, according to John Pitzer, Intel’s Corporate VP of Investor Relations. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley TMT 2025 conference, he reassured that Panther Lake’s development is on schedule.
John Pitzer expressed Intel’s confidence in Panther Lake by mentioning that the yield performance at this stage is slightly better than that of Meteor Lake. This signals a strong start for Intel’s new processor architecture, which aims to increase efficiency and performance over its predecessors.
Intel will continue the rhythm of the Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake generations on Panther Lake, that is, release processors in the second half of the previous year, but the actual mass production will fall next year. Panther Lake will improve the company’s overall profit performance starting in 2026.
As for the process, John Pitzer said that Intel internally believes that the level of Intel 18A is comparable to TSMC’s N3 or N2, the process is progressing in an orderly manner, and the first external customer tape-out will be completed in the first half of this year.
Intel and TSMC previously demonstrated SRAM density performance for 2nm-class processes (Intel 18A, TSMC N2) at ISSCC 2025, with both achieving 38.1 Mb/mm2 on the HD high-density library.
What’s Next for Intel?
With Panther Lake on track and Intel 18A advancing steadily, Intel is gearing up to:
✔ Compete aggressively with TSMC in advanced process nodes
✔ Ensure stable yields to maintain processor launch schedules
✔ Leverage Panther Lake’s improvements to boost profits in 2026
