Chipmaking legend ready to cooperate with Intel — but Jim Keller has a condition

One of the most prominent chip designers in the world, Jim Keller, weighed in on the outlook for next-generation processors. In a recent interview he said his company, Tenstorrent, is exploring the option of using Intel’s fabrication capacity, but cautioned that the U.S. titan still “has a lot to improve” before it can rival the industry’s leaders.

According to Keller, Tenstorrent is in talks with TSMC, Samsung, Rapidus and Intel about fabricating future processors on a 2 nm node. He doesn’t dismiss collaboration with Intel, but stresses that the company must prove its technologies are dependable and suitable for external customers.

Intel has spent several years trying to regain ground in contract manufacturing and is promoting its 18A and 14A process technologies. These nodes claim up to 25% higher clock speeds at the same power envelope and up to 36% reduced energy consumption while retaining performance. However, as Keller pointed out, the ultimate test will be real-world confirmation of their stability.

Keller is known for spearheading the AMD K8 architecture, contributing to the Apple A4 and A5 designs, leading CPU development at Tesla, and serving as a senior executive at Intel (2018–2020). He now heads Tenstorrent, which develops RISC‑V based AI chips. His comments suggest the competition for 2 nm customers is entering a critical stage. If Intel can convince partners of the robustness of its processes, it could reclaim a spot among the world’s manufacturing leaders.

Source: iXBT.games