The news
Intel High NA EUV lithography has processed more than one million wafers and remains in high-volume manufacturing, Intel Foundry and ASML said on September 7, 2026. The update gives Intel (INTC) production data to show chip designers who are choosing where to build future chips.
The companies made the announcement at the SPIE Photomask Technology and Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography conference in Monterey, California. Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography uses very short wavelengths of light to print chip circuits. ASML's High NA machines, sold as the EXE platform, use optics with a higher numerical aperture, a measure of how much light the lens gathers, than its standard 0.33 NA EUV tools, the NXE platform.
The one million wafers include early tool certification and testing, research and development, and volume production of select layers for a subset of Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, code-named Panther Lake. Intel said overlay, which measures how precisely each layer lines up with the one below, along with throughput and tool availability, met its expectations.
Intel also said products made on its 18A process using High NA for select layers performed as well as or better than comparable layers patterned on NXE tools. It did not publish yield or cost figures.
Much of the update covered photomasks, the stencils that carry chip patterns. Naga Chandrasekaran, an Intel executive vice president and co-general manager of Intel Foundry, said Intel is focused on near-term use of High NA with the industry's standard 6-inch masks, with or without stitching, and on a move to larger 6x12-inch masks. Stitching joins separate exposures so a large design can be printed. Intel said customers can adopt High NA through floor-planning within 6-inch masks or its stitching and process design kit (PDK) tools.
ASML president and chief executive Christophe Fouquet credited Intel with installing the first commercial EXE system in 2024 and with "shipping the first high-volume logic product manufactured with High NA."
The numbers
- Wafers processed with High NA to date
- More than 1 million
- First commercial EXE system installed
- 2024
- Standard EUV comparison platform
- NXE, 0.33 NA
- Mask formats in play
- 6-inch today; 6x12-inch planned
Why CEOs should care
For chip designers and the executives who pick their foundry, this gives Intel a production record with High NA that it can point to. That matters if you are weighing Intel Foundry against other manufacturers for chips due later this decade. Ask Intel which layers and nodes use High NA, what yields look like on those layers, and what design rules stitching imposes on large dies such as AI accelerators.
For CFOs and procurement leaders, the announcement carried no cost data. Performance that matches or beats older EUV on select layers does not by itself mean cheaper wafers. Any foundry quote that leans on High NA should come with clear pricing and a plan for how mask changes, from 6-inch to 6x12-inch, would affect design and mask costs.
For boards, the milestone is a proof point for Intel's manufacturing turnaround but not a customer win. The volume production cited is for Intel's own Panther Lake chips. The real test is whether outside designers commit volume to Intel's future nodes.
The bigger picture
Intel is trying to turn its factory technology into a foundry business that sells manufacturing to other chip companies. On August 26, 2026, chief financial officer David Zinsner said Intel is committed to high-volume manufacturing on its 14A process in 2028, with risk production planned for 2027, and that external customer engagement had increased significantly, according to an Investing.com transcript.
Yahoo Finance reported on August 11, 2026, without citing a source, that Intel Foundry had won Tesla as a customer for 14A; Intel's press releases from July through early September 2026 did not announce any Tesla or 14A customer deal. Intel also raised new equity: it priced a $20 billion stock offering on August 11, saying proceeds may fund capital expenditures.
What happened next
In a joint release dated September 8, 2026, TSMC and ASML launched an initiative to move the industry to 12-inch photomasks for High NA. TSMC said it intends to use High NA in high-volume manufacturing for advanced nodes starting in 2030, with a 12-inch mask pilot line targeted by 2031 and advanced-node production with 12-inch High NA systems by 2033.
On those dates, Intel's volume use of High NA predates TSMC's planned start by several years. Watch for Intel to name external customers for nodes that use High NA, and for any yield or cost data at its third-quarter 2026 earnings report.
