Key Findings
Intel Foundry is strategically leveraging advanced packaging technologies, including Foveros stacking and Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) interconnects, to significantly enhance AI computing performance for data centers in response to escalating AI workload demands. These innovative approaches enable the seamless interconnection of multiple specialized chips into a single, powerful unit, effectively overcoming traditional semiconductor scaling limits and facilitating next-generation AI semiconductors. Notably, Intel plans to introduce EMIB-T in 2026, which will further improve power efficiency and signal routing by delivering power directly to the chips, bolstering support for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) technology.
Technical Details
- Foveros is a 3D stacking technology that vertically integrates logic chips, allowing the combination of chips manufactured on different process nodes to achieve high performance and power efficiency within a compact footprint. This enables AI accelerators to deliver more computational power in a smaller area.
- EMIB is a 2.5D packaging technology that connects chiplets, potentially manufactured on different process nodes, side-by-side. It shortens interconnect distances compared to traditional interposers, enabling low-power, high-speed communication between chips. EMIB-T will apply PowerVia technology for direct power delivery to the chip, improving power delivery efficiency and signal integrity, contributing to further performance gains in AI chips.
- These technologies are essential for eliminating data transfer bottlenecks, particularly when integrating with high-bandwidth memories like HBM, and for dramatically accelerating AI model training and inference speeds.
Background & Context
With the advancement of AI, data centers require high-performance, power-efficient semiconductors capable of processing vast amounts of data at high speeds. Traditional monolithic chip designs face increasing manufacturing costs and physical limitations, making heterogeneous integration, which combines multiple chiplets, the new mainstream approach in the industry. Intel is leading this trend by developing its proprietary advanced packaging technologies like Foveros and EMIB, aiming to enhance its competitiveness in the AI semiconductor market. This strategy focuses on maximizing overall system performance and efficiency, not just individual chip performance.
Strategic Significance & Outlook
Foveros, EMIB, and the upcoming EMIB-T in 2026 will form a crucial technological foundation for Intel to establish leadership in the AI era. These advanced packaging technologies will provide Intel Foundry with the flexibility and scalability needed to support diverse customer AI semiconductor designs, further boosting the performance of next-generation AI accelerators, HPCs, and data center processors. Improvements in power efficiency and bandwidth are also expected to contribute to a reduction in the total cost of ownership (TCO) for AI systems, making a significant impact across the industry.
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