Intel Reportedly Secures 4nm And 3nm TSMC Wafer Orders For Battlemage And Celestial GPUs
Of course not. The parallel processors known somewhat anachronistically as "GPUs" are a critical part of the future of computing, and Intel needs to have a strong product stack available to serve customers looking for that type of compute horsepower.
To that end, Intel has reportedly slapped down the cash for "large" orders from TSMC on both its 4nm and 3nm process nodes. The report, appearing in Taiwan's Commercial Times, goes on to say that these orders will primarily serve Intel's Xe2 (or "Battlemage") and Xe3 (or "Celestial") GPUs.
This is interesting news for all kinds of reasons. Intel has its own bleeding-edge foundry services, with the 20A and 18A process nodes supposedly seeing quick progress toward viability. Even still, it seems like Intel's GPU business will remain with TSMC for the foreseeable future.
The report also says that the second-generation "Battlemage" products are anticipated to come to market in the second half of next year, while the follow-up "Celestial" parts will be arriving in the second half of 2026. Another fifteen or more months would be a long time to ride on the current Arc parts, but earlier leaks have suggested the existence of an Alchemist refresh in the second half of this year.
