Intel’s 14A Process Will Be Its Most Expensive and Advanced Yet

Intel is advancing its 14A process node (equivalent to 1.4 nanometres), a technology described as its most expensive and advanced yet, designed for both its own products and foundry customers. According to Citi’s 2025 Global TMT Conference, Intel CFO David Zinsner remarked that 14A is more expensive than 18A, driven by a higher wafer cost due to the use of High-NA EUV tools.

The process will employ ASML’s Twinscan EXE:5200B high-NA EUV scanner with 0.55 NA optics, and Intel projects 15–20% improvements in performance per watt while cutting power consumption by 25–35%. An added layer of complexity comes from innovations such as the RibbonFET 2 gate-all-around transistor architecture and PowerDirect backside power delivery, plus Turbo Cells to optimise timing paths.

The EXE:5200B unit costs are around $380 million per unit, compared to $235 million for low-NA EUV scanners, underscoring the extraordinary cost of sustaining such advanced research. If Intel cannot attract major external foundry clients for 14A, CEO Lip-Bu Tan warned that the project may be slowed or abandoned, given the price tag attached to this development.