Intel has begun installing equipment at Fab 62 within its Ocotillo campus in Chandler, Arizona. In a somewhat unusual move, Intel confirmed its current status and plans, a change from the company's typical practice of keeping such information deliberately vague. According to Intel officials, construction and equipment installation are currently underway, with production projected to begin by the end of 2028. Naga Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President of Intel Foundry and Chief Technology and Operations Officer, stated: "Today, I am pleased to share that construction and tool installation at Fab 62 are now fully underway, and we expect operations to begin by the end of 2028. We're also making progress in Ohio, where the first major structural truss has been installed on the first fab in New Albany." Reaching this stage for Fab 62 comes more than a year after Intel had Fab 52 at full production capacity.

Fab 62 could support 18A, 18A-P, and 14A process nodes, however, the company has not confirmed which ones. The next-door Fab 52 already manufactures chips on the 18A node. We can presume that the new facility could either expand existing capacity or support the next-generation 14A process. Fab 52 currently manufactures Panther Lake processors and Clearwater Forest server CPUs using the 18A process.In the same news post, Intel announced that it has also broken ground on a new photomask manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California. Intel operations are spread across several U.S. states. Oregon handles advanced logic and 3D interconnect research, while Arizona focuses on packaging research, assembly, and testing. Its New Mexico facilities manufacture multi-chiplet processors using EMIB, EMIB-T, and Foveros packaging technologies.Separately, CNBC, quoted by TrendForce, reports that Intel is in talks with SK hynix about potentially leasing part of its unfinished Ohio facility for U.S. memory chip production. So far, neither company has confirmed the reported discussions.