How Panther Lake is made: We went inside Intel’s most advanced chip fab

Being a tech journalist isn’t as cool as you might think. Most of the time it’s just reading and analyzing information, writing, talking with people via chat and email, and every once in a while trying out a cool new laptop. But every now and then you get to see things that very few people see, like the inside of one of the most advanced factories in the world.

And by “you,” I mean Adam, Mark, and Will, not me. Because I’m too far from Arizona to see Intel’s massive industrial manufacturing hub. And I’m not jealous at all, not even a little bit.

Unfortunately, because it is 1) a clean facility ten times stricter than an average operating room in terms of cleanliness and 2) filled from floor to very high ceiling with proprietary technology and trade secrets, the PCWorld team did not have the opportunity to take photos or videos of the brand new Fab 52-18A facility, which is preparing to produce Intel’s next-generation Panther Lake chips for 2026.

The team was able to take notes and had a long, enjoyable conversation in sunny Arizona about their experiences. For an in-depth analysis of what must be one of the most complex installations on the planet, check out the full conversation. And if you want to be the first to know when we can actually try Panther Lake for ourselves, subscribe to the PCWorld and The Full Nerd podcast.