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Intel wants to become the go-to foundry for asics and specialized chips, and Lip-Bu Tan's secret weapon is A former Marvell exec. Intel is currently in the process of shedding its notoriously labyrinthine bureaucratic layers and the attendant inertia, while eyeing new markets and product categories for its fledgling advanced fabrication nodes, with the scorching-hot ASIC market serving as one such high-probability gambit on the part of the chipmaker's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. As evidence, look no further than Intel's hiring of Dean Jarnac, a former Marvell executive, who has likely been tasked with furthering just such a goal, according to the tech analyst, Jack Gold. Lip-Bu Tan broke years of internal precedents by a hiring a number of outsiders to lead Intel's key business segments, with Dean Jarnac's induction serving as a harbinger of sorts for Intel's pivot towards ASICs. The ASIC market has become quite crowded over the past few years. After all, Wccf Tech Inc now have the TPUs that Google designs with Broadcom, Marvell, and MediaTek, the Trainium chips that Amazon designs in collaboration with Marvell, and the Maia AI accelerators that Microsoft designs with OpenAI, Marvell, and Broadcom. As if this were not enough, OpenAI recently collaborated with Broadcom to unveil a bespoke accelerator, dubbed Jalapeno, and Anthropic is reportedly developing an ASIC in collaboration with Broadcom and Samsung. It is only natural, therefore, for Intel to try to capture a slice of this oven-hot pie. And, its biggest weapon so far for making just such an inroad is Dean Jarnac, a former Marvell executive who brings extensive ASIC-related experience to the proverbial table. According to the tech analyst Jack Gold, Intel wants to leverage Jarnac's experience to clinch some much-needed contracts, which can then establish Intel's ASIC line on a firmer footing: "[Marvell] designs chips, and so he knows, I'm assuming pretty well, how that whole process works when you work [for a] chip design company versus a company that designs and makes their own chips [like Intel]." And, Intel has already had some success in its new pivot. As a case in point, back in July, the company announced a deal to design and manufacture Fortinet's next-generation security processor for high-performance firewalls and security infrastructure. Even so, Intel's ambitions appear much more expansive, with its CFO, David Zinsner, noting in July that the company's ASIC business was approaching a $2 billion annual run rate, and could reach $4 billion "in the not-too-distant future." Of course, Lip-Bu Tan's hiring of Jarnac is a part of a broader pattern, where Intel's new CEO is deliberately eschewing convention to position experienced outsiders within key areas of focus. By doing so, Tan appears to be striking a blow against Intel's entrenched bureaucracy, which has long become accustomed to internal promotions for key positions. Elsewhere, Wccf Tech Inc reported just today that NVIDIA might adopt Intel's Foveros packaging technology in 2028, which should act as a significant tailwind for the chipmaker. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Foveros brings true 3D active-die stacking - face-to-face or face-to-back stacking directly over a base die/interposer - to the proverbial table, replete with very high interconnect density and extremely low signal latency due to short vertical paths offered by copper-to-copper hybrid bonding. Foveros is a significant step-up from EMIB-T. As a refresher, Intel's EMIB connects multiple silicon chips (chiplets) inside a single processor package using tiny silicon "bridges" embedded directly inside the organic substrate, with high-density micro-bumps placed only at the edges where the chiplets meet the bridge. The EMIB-T takes this approach a step further by sporting Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) drilled directly through the embedded silicon bridges. These vertical routing channels allow power and high-speed signals to flow straight up from the bottom of the chip package, through the bridge, and directly into the processors or memory sitting on top, enabling 3D stacking. As if this were not enough, Intel has also been making silent inroads in the memory segment, working on upcoming technologies such as XBM and Z-Angle Memory (ZAM). As a refresher, ZAM is a 3D-stacked DRAM where diagonal interconnects replace vertical through-silicon vias (TSVs), forming a central thermal pillar that better dissipates heat. It also leverages copper-to-copper hybrid bonding and eschews capacitors for greater density. In fact, Intel specifically highlighted its hiring of SK hynix's former CEO, Shou-Chi Lee, at its last earnings call while discussing its memory-related ambitions. About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur. Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of its news coverage in your feeds. Deal of the day.

Intel is reportedly launching new CPUs on old sockets that support DDR4 memory. by bleffel | Oct 9, 2026 If you guessed the RAMpocalypse is involved... This post was originally published on this site

Intel is reportedly launching new CPUs on old sockets that support DDR4 memory. This is, of course, due to the AI-fueled RAMpocalypse. Add Engadget on Google: We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Intel is reportedly releasing new CPUs built on LGA 1700 sockets, according to motherboard manufacturer Gigabyte. The LGA 1700 has been around since 2021, which is a really long time in processor land. Why use relatively ancient technology in brand-new processors that are set to release next year? It all comes down to the price of memory, according to a report by PC Gamer. LGA 1700 sockets offer support for both DDR5 and DDR4 memory, so the running theory is that upcoming refreshes of Raptor Lake and Alder Lake processors will be configurable to use DDR4 RAM. This is likely to accommodate the ongoing AI-fueled RAMpocalypse, in which memory prices have skyrocketed. Simply put, DDR4 RAM is a lot cheaper than DDR5. Folks can pick up a 32GB DDR4 kit for around $210, but a 32GB DDR5 kit costs upwards of $480. Intel hasn't confirmed this theory, but VP Robert Hallock recently said that Raptor Lake chips would be sticking around for "years to come." He also suggested that DDR4 integration is one of the primary reasons. "LGA 1700 is still a good socket. Lots of people are still interested in DDR4, so we'll keep offering," he said. This isn't that surprising, given that many of the company's current line of processors can already be configured to use DDR4 memory. DDR4 isn't as fast as DDR5, but the older memory type is still fine for the vast majority of modern PC games. Testing has revealed that DDR5 sticks deliver a 1 to ten percent FPS improvement. However, this largely depends on the resolution the player chooses and the GPU.