Intel is confident it will be able to produce the expected yields of its 10nm chips this year despite supply issues at the company"s factory network. In an open letter, Intel"s Interim CEO and CFO, Bob Swan, confessed that the company’s supply of CPUs for the entry-level PC market is currently limited, blaming the shortage on the unexpected return to growth of the PC industry.
To address the supply dilemma, Intel is investing $1 billion in its 14nm production plants in Oregon, Arizona, Ireland, and Israel. That money will be taken from the $15 billion in capital expenditures Intel is allocating this year. The goal is to increase the supply in order to meet the growing customer demands, Swan said.
The PC industry rebound, in particular, is "driven by strong demand for gaming as well as commercial systems," Swan wrote in the letter. Over the short term, the semiconductor manufacturer plans to give more priority to the premium market by focusing on the production of Xeon and Intel Core processors.
It remains to be seen, though, whether Intel will be able to align its available supply with customer demand, as it promises to do.
Source: Intel