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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Intel and Amazon Web Services announced a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar framework on September 16, 2024, to co-invest in custom chip designs. It covers two distinct projects: an AI fabric chip for AWS made on Intel 18A and a custom Xeon 6 chip made on Intel 3. The companies did not disclose an exact deal value, wafer volume, or delivery schedule.
What the Intel–AWS deal includes
The agreement is a collaboration framework, not a publicly priced purchase order. Intel and AWS said they would co-invest in custom chip designs, with Intel producing wafers and chips for AWS. Intel’s announcement and its subsequent regulatory filing describe the commitment as multi-year and multi-billion-dollar, but give no exact dollar amount. Intel’s September 16, 2024 announcement and its October 31, 2024 filing name two designs:
- AI fabric chip: intended for AWS infrastructure and specified for Intel 18A.
- Custom Xeon 6 chip: a processor design for AWS, specified for Intel 3.
The announcement did not disclose either chip’s architecture, performance, power consumption, price, tape-out date, or deployment date. These are custom infrastructure designs, not products the sources identify as retail goods.
How the two chip projects differ
| Project | Intended role | Intel process | What is established about availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI fabric chip | AWS AI infrastructure networking/fabric, as described in the announcement | Intel 18A | No project-specific tape-out, production, or deployment confirmation in the cited sources. |
| Custom Xeon 6 | Compute processor designed for AWS | Intel 3 | Intel later reported Xeon 6 processors in AWS EC2 R8i and R8i-flex, but did not identify them as the custom design announced in 2024. |
The process-node pairings matter: Intel 18A is named for the fabric chip, while Intel 3 is named for the Xeon design. A general milestone for one process or a standard Xeon 6 cloud instance does not, by itself, establish the status of either AWS-specific custom chip.
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What has been confirmed since the announcement
Xeon 6 appears in AWS cloud instances
On August 20, 2025, Intel reported that Xeon 6 processors were available in AWS 8th Generation EC2 R8i and R8i-flex instances. This confirms Xeon 6 in those AWS cloud offerings, not that those instances use the custom Xeon 6 design specified in the 2024 framework. Intel’s report does not make that connection. See Intel’s report on Xeon 6 and AWS EC2.
Intel 18A has entered production, but the AWS chip’s status remains unconfirmed
Intel’s June 16, 2026 foundry update says Intel 18A entered production in 2025. That is a milestone for the manufacturing process, not confirmation that the AWS AI fabric chip has taped out, entered production, or been deployed. The update also says Intel 18A-P entered risk production in 2026; it does not establish that AWS’s announced fabric chip uses that process. Intel’s foundry update provides the process context.
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Possible follow-on designs and Ohio context
Intel and AWS said they intended to explore additional designs using Intel 18A and future nodes, including Intel 18AP and Intel 14A. That is an exploratory intention, not a disclosed purchase commitment for additional chips.
Intel framed the collaboration as supporting U.S.-based manufacturing and Ohio’s AI ecosystem. In the 2024 announcement, Intel said AWS planned to invest $7.8 billion to expand its Central Ohio data-center operations and said AWS had invested $10.3 billion in Ohio since 2015. Those are figures and a plan stated in the 2024 release, not a current verified tally of AWS investment.
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What the deal means for AWS customers
The framework gives AWS a path to work with Intel on silicon tailored to its infrastructure, while giving Intel a customer for foundry manufacturing and custom processor work. The public announcements do not establish when AWS customers might use the AI fabric chip or the custom Xeon design, what performance either will deliver, or whether either is already in service. For now, the confirmed customer-facing evidence is narrower: Intel says Xeon 6 processors are available in R8i and R8i-flex EC2 instances, without tying those processors to the custom design.
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