Release of Meteor Lake Microprocessor Delayed by 6 Months
Intel’s announcement last week that it will delay the release of a 7nm process-based microprocessor by about six months is expected to negatively affect Samsung Electronics, which is the world’s number-one DRAM and NAND flash memory maker.
Intel announced on July 23 (local time) that the release date of the Meteor Lake microprocessor will be at the end of 2022 or early 2023, about six months late compared to the previously announced release date.
Given that Intel usually releases a microprocessor for PCs first and then that for servers about a year later, it is predicted that CPUs for servers will be released at the end of 2023 at the earliest.
Intel announced that it will release Tiger Lake, a 10nm CPU for PCs, in the third quarter of 2020 and Ice Lake, a 10nm CPU for servers within this year. But the announcement was not enough to ease market concerns. The stock price of Intel plunged more than 10 percent in after-hours trading.
Industry insiders predict that Intel's late technological advancement will provide an opportunity for its rival AMD. AMD has 7nm CPU design technology and outsources production to TSMC. The foundry business departments of TSMC and Samsung Electronics are currently able to mass-produce 5nm semiconductors based on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment.
Intel, on the other hand, produces CPUs on its own without relying on foundry companies. But the company cannot invest in advanced foundry processes as much as TSMC and Samsung Electronics do. This is why some predict that the gap between Intel and AMD will narrow. AMD's share of the PC CPU market exceeded 17 percent in the first quarter of 2020, more than double from five years ago, according to market research firm Mercury Research
Intel's slump is a negative factor for memory semiconductor makers such as Samsung Electronics. Cloud business companies such as Microsoft and Amazon increase their purchases of DRAMs and NAND flashes that will run together with new CPUs for servers. With a recent surge in "untact demand" due to the spread of the new coronavirus, Intel’s release of a new CPU could fuel another super cycle for memory producers. SK Hynix benefited from increased demand for chips stemming from an increase in untact services. The share of DRAMs for servers in its sales rose close to 50 percent in the second quarter of 2020. On the other hand, due to the delay in Intel's release of state-of-the-art CPUs, Samsung Electronics and others will have to make money by increasing sales of mobile DRAMs for smartphones.