Intel finally put a name to one of its foundry customers. Cybersecurity firm Fortinet will manufacture its next-generation SP6 security processor on the Intel 4 process. Shares surged more than 8% on the news. The announcement arrived just days before the chipmaker’s second-quarter earnings. And it marks the first publicly identified external client for the foundry business since CEO Lip-Bu Tan took the helm in March 2025.
The deal lands at a pivotal moment. Intel’s foundry ambitions have consumed billions in investment. They have generated more questions than concrete revenue. External sales totaled just $174 million in the first quarter. That figure represents a tiny slice of the $5.4 billion in foundry revenue, most of which still comes from Intel’s own products. The Fortinet agreement offers tangible proof that outsiders will trust Intel with production. Yet it arrives on a process node introduced years ago for internal use. Not the advanced 18A technology the company’s future hinges upon.
Fortinet’s SP6 builds on a long-standing relationship. The two companies have collaborated before on firewall ASICs. This time the partnership expands to full design, packaging and fabrication. Intel’s official release frames the move as strengthening global supply chain resilience while advancing cybersecurity capabilities. Demand for dedicated security silicon has climbed steadily. Fortinet’s purpose-built processors sit at the heart of its firewall and network protection offerings.
But context matters. Intel’s 2021 roadmap scoped Intel 4 strictly for its own products. The company initially positioned Intel 3 as its first foundry offering. Three years later the script has flipped. Intel 4 now supports custom networking ASICs. Yields have improved. Production has stabilized. Still. This is not the bleeding-edge win investors crave.
Tan has preached patience. In May he told CNBC that multiple customers were engaged with the foundry. Naming them ran against his policy. The Fortinet reveal breaks that silence. It arrives as Intel prepares to report results on July 23. Analysts expect revenue around $14.4 billion. The stock trades at nearly 90 times forward earnings after a 300% run over the past year. Any stumble could prove costly.
Progress on leading nodes tells a more complex story. Intel 18A entered production in 2025. The 18A-P variant reached risk production by mid-2026 with improved performance and thermal characteristics. Intel’s VLSI Symposium update highlighted these gains and long-term R&D commitments. Microsoft selected a chip design for 18A years ago. Amazon has worked on AI fabric chips. Yet public, named volume commitments for these processes remain elusive.
Recent reports add nuance. CNBC coverage confirms Fortinet as the first announced corporate customer under Tan. Tom’s Hardware analysis notes the three-year gap since Intel 4 entered production and the shift from internal-only plans. Rumors swirl around Apple, AMD, Google and Nvidia evaluating 18A or 18A-P. None have been confirmed at the scale needed to reshape the economics.
The foundry’s operating losses continue. First-quarter results showed a $2.4 billion deficit in the segment. Restructuring charges and Mobileye impairments deepened the reported net loss to $3.7 billion. Non-GAAP earnings reached $1.5 billion. Data center and AI revenue grew 22%. That outpaced overall company growth. Tan has tied the next wave of AI to edge intelligence. He sees rising need for Intel CPUs, wafers and advanced packaging.
But execution risks abound. High-NA EUV tools are running at Intel fabs. The company claims 18A yields have climbed toward 85%. TSMC’s comparable nodes sit higher. Customers demand proven manufacturability before they commit high-volume designs. Tan has signaled that 14A development will tie more closely to confirmed external feedback. That marks a departure from 18A’s path.
One named customer does not transform the business overnight. It does provide a reference. Future deals could build on this foundation. Advanced packaging has been spun out into a separate unit. Government support through the CHIPS Act underwrites domestic capacity. Arizona and Ohio fabs represent massive bets on U.S. manufacturing resurgence.
Investors will parse Thursday’s earnings for clues. External foundry revenue trends matter most. Guidance on 18A ramp and 14A customer engagements will move the needle. So will any color on the Fortinet contribution. The cybersecurity market grows fast. If SP6 succeeds it could open doors for similar custom silicon wins.
Broader industry dynamics favor diversification. Hyperscalers seek supply chain alternatives to TSMC. Geopolitical tensions keep supply security top of mind. Intel positions itself as that backup. Its integrated device manufacturing heritage offers unique systems expertise. Packaging capabilities complement logic production. The question is whether these advantages translate into orders at scale.
Tan’s leadership has brought sharper focus. Layoffs in the data center group trim legacy costs. Partnerships deepen with Google Cloud on both AI deployment and foundry services. Hitachi recently selected 18A for quantum processor chips. Small steps accumulate. But the math demands more. Foundry must move from proof points to profitable volume.
The stock reaction spoke volumes. Eight percent gains reflect relief that the narrative has shifted from promises to contracts. Yet the valuation leaves little margin for error. Intel sits at an inflection. This Fortinet deal buys time. It does not yet buy dominance. The months ahead will reveal whether leading-edge customers follow the cybersecurity pioneer onto Intel silicon.
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