Intel has announced the introduction of its Intel Core Ultra series 3 processors, known as Panther Lake, and provided a first look at its upcoming Intel Xeon 6+ processors, code-named Clearwater Forest. Both product lines are built on the company’s latest semiconductor technology, Intel 18A, which is described as the most advanced node developed and manufactured in the United States.
The new processors are being produced at Fab 52, Intel’s newly opened factory in Chandler, Arizona. This facility is part of Intel’s Ocotillo campus and represents the company’s fifth high-volume manufacturing site in the area. The factory is a component of Intel’s broader investment plan to expand domestic chip production, with more than $100 billion allocated for this purpose.
During the Intel Technology Tour 2025 in Arizona, Jim Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel, presented details about the Panther Lake architecture. “Johnson explained the architecture highlights of the next generation of Intel Core Ultra, code-named Panther Lake.”
Industry analysts and media representatives were given an opportunity to see the new Panther Lake wafer for the first time during the September event. Kevork Kechichian, executive vice president and general manager of Intel’s Data Center Group, also showcased the Xeon 6+ wafer on stage. According to Kechichian, Clearwater Forest is “the most efficient server processor the company has ever created,” and it is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.
Joe Broderick, an Intel technical marketing engineer, demonstrated how Panther Lake will improve efficiency and performance compared to previous generations of Core Ultra processors.
Fab 52 has begun manufacturing these next-generation chips using advanced logic processes. The facility features modern cleanrooms where technicians handle both Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest chips as they move through various stages of production.
On October 6, 2025, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan visited Fab 52 to meet with manufacturing leaders such as Zivit Katz-Tsameret, vice president of Intel Foundry Manufacturing and Supply Chain and factory manager for Arizona operations. During his visit, Tan toured the facility alongside Katz-Tsameret and Jason Reid, manager of the Intel 18A Lithography Department.
The tour included a demonstration of an EUV lithography scanner used to print next-generation Core Ultra processors. Panther Lake is noted as the first product manufactured on the new Intel 18A node at Fab 52.
This expansion at Fab 52 aligns with Intel’s goal to increase U.S.-based semiconductor production capacity. The facility will produce advanced logic chips as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains.
