Intel's CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, has remained adamant in recent months that the company would only invest capital in its bleeding-edge 14A process node after definitively locking in customers for that node.

Well, Intel has just announced a major capital-raising exercise, setting the proverbial tongues wagging across the industry as to the possibility of confirmed customers for the 14A process.

Intel's Lip-Bu Tan has remained adamant that he would only invest significant capital in Intel foundry after locking in customers for the 14A process node

Intel has just filed a shelf prospectus on the Form S-3 , announcing its intention to sell new shares to raise around $15 billion in fresh capital.

Intel intends to use the proceeds from this capital-raising exercise for "general corporate purposes, which may include, but are not limited to, capital expenditures and working capital ."

While Intel has been fairly vague as to the exact purpose for which it is raising this new capital, the company does note that the "offering is intended to further enable Intel to pursue the growth opportunities ahead while maintaining a strong balance sheet and its commitment to an investment-grade rating."

This brings us to the core of today's topic. Lip-Bu Tan has repeatedly stated that he would only greenlight significant expansion of Intel's foundry after locking in confirmed deals for the bleeding-edge 14A process node.

Consequently, even though Intel has not formally announced any 14A customers as yet, today's prospectus for new capital is one of the clearest signs that we have received so far as to the commercial viability of the14A process, especially as Intel already has around $30 billion in cash, which seemingly precludes the need to raise new capital for miscellaneous purposes.

Meanwhile, we reported recently that Intel now expects to start offering its EMIB-T packaging solution in bulk in 2027, with package yields already approaching the 90 percent level . The only lingering obstruction, however, relates to substrate yield that is currently stuck at 50 percent.

Do note that EMIB-T is around 50 percent cheaper than TSMC's CoWoS, and sports Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) drilled directly through the embedded silicon bridges. These vertical routing channels allow power and high-speed signals to flow straight up from the bottom of the chip package, through the bridge, and directly into the processors or memory sitting on top, enabling 3D stacking.

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