Intel Foundry Lands Fortinet as Its First Named External Chip Customer
Intel and Fortinet announced a deal for Fortinet’s Security Processor 6 (SP6) custom chip, to be built using Intel’s design, packaging and manufacturing. Reporting cited SP6 on Intel 4 at Fab 34 in Leixlip, Ireland. Intel shares rose over 8% after the July 21 news. Intel reported Q2 revenue of $16.1B and external foundry revenue of $293M.
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The deal converts a previously vague foundry narrative into a specific, product-tied engagement (Fortinet SP6 for FortiGate firewalls) and provides node and manufacturing details (Intel 4, Fab 34, Leixlip).
Market read
A named foundry customer win on Intel 4 is a credibility boost, but the article emphasizes the foundry revenue remains small and does not yet validate 18A customer trust.
What to watch
The article notes Intel Foundry still lost $2.1B in the quarter and external foundry revenue is only $293M, so traders may discount the win until yield and capacity improvements translate into larger, repeatable bookings.
Background
Intel has been pitching its foundry turnaround for years, with outside-customer commitments often described abstractly; this is the first named external customer in the article.
Ticker impact
Intel Foundry announced Fortinet as its first named external chip customer, developing Fortinet’s SP6 on Intel 4 at Fab 34 in Ireland.
Near-term sentiment support for INTC as investors weigh credibility of foundry revival; magnitude likely limited until additional 18A or larger external wins are disclosed.
The article provides a specific customer win (Fortinet SP6) plus supporting foundry financial context (external foundry revenue $293M, still tiny) and notes the deal is not an 18A validation, tempering expectations.
Market effects
Supports the custom ASIC and foundry-services demand thesis for IDM foundries, but highlights that early wins may be on older nodes before 18A scale validation.
Reinforces Ireland manufacturing footprint relevance for advanced packaging and wafer production tied to external customer programs.
Adds another data point to the competitive foundry landscape versus TSMC and Samsung, though the node and revenue scale suggest incremental rather than disruptive impact.
Counterpoint
Because SP6 is built on Intel 4 (not 18A), the deal may not meaningfully change the market’s core question about whether customers will commit to Intel’s next-generation node.
Key entities
- companyIntel Foundry
Intel’s foundry arm that announced the external customer deal and provided node and manufacturing details.
- companyFortinet
Cybersecurity vendor that will use Intel Foundry to develop its Security Processor 6 (SP6) for future FortiGate appliances.
- technologyIntel 4
Intel’s process node that entered high-volume production in 2023 and is used for SP6 in this deal.
- technologyIntel 18A
Intel’s next-generation node that the market views as the bigger test for external customer commitments.
