On July 21, 2026, Intel and Fortinet announced they would jointly develop the Fortinet Security Processor 6 (SP6). The chip combines the purpose-built security chip design that Fortinet has pursued for over 20 years with Intel's semiconductor design, advanced packaging, and manufacturing capabilities. In response to questions from Tom's Hardware, Intel confirmed that SP6 will be manufactured on the Intel 4 process. This makes it the first time Intel 4—which entered mass production in 2023—has gained an external customer whose name can be publicly disclosed.
For Fortinet, SP6 represents an effort to broaden its base of development and supply partners while keeping its proprietary ASIC at the core of its strategy. For Intel, it's an opportunity to extend a process node used internally for Core Ultra into an externally shipped mass-production product. That said, neither the specifications for SP6 nor the start date for production have been announced. Much information remains unfilled before the value of this agreement can be measured against an actual shipping product.
First Named External Design Win on Intel 4
The joint announcement states that Intel will support the design, packaging, and manufacturing of SP6, but it does not name the manufacturing process. Intel confirmed to Tom's Hardware that Intel 4 would be used, and the outlet reported SP6 as the first publicly disclosed external design win on this process. The scope of this "first" applies specifically to Intel 4, not to Intel Foundry as a whole.
Intel 4 is the first process in which Intel adopted extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Fab 34 in Leixlip, Ireland, began mass production of Intel 4 on September 29, 2023, and has been producing compute tiles for the Meteor Lake generation of Core Ultra. Process development and early-stage production were carried out at a development fab in Oregon, USA. SP6 represents a case of loading an external design onto a process node with roughly three years of production track record.
However, it has not been announced that Fab 34 will manufacture SP6. The existing Intel 4 production site and the actual manufacturing location for SP6 need to be considered separately. Given that this agreement is framed around strengthening supply chain resilience, which fab processes the wafers and where packaging takes place are conditions that will determine the real-world effectiveness of the deal.
From SP5's 7nm to the Work SP6 Inherits
Fortinet's ASICs offload network transfer, cryptographic processing, and content inspection to dedicated circuits, reducing the burden on general-purpose CPUs. Firewalls tend to see processing loads increase sharply when inspecting the contents of encrypted traffic. To address this, Fortinet has co-designed FortiOS together with its dedicated chips, managing device performance and power consumption in tandem.
The previous-generation FortiSP5, announced in 2023, is a 5th-generation system-on-chip (SoC) built on a 7nm process. Compared against a reference standard CPU, Fortinet claimed 17x firewall performance and 3.5x next-generation firewall (NGFW) performance. It also claimed 32x cryptographic processing performance and 88% lower power consumption. The claimed SSL deep inspection throughput was 2.5Gbps.
These figures are Fortinet's own comparative benchmarks, not a preview of SP6's performance. Still, they indicate what should be measured with each generational update. How much throughput SP6 can maintain while inspecting encrypted traffic, and how many security functions it can run simultaneously within the same power envelope, will directly determine the real-world capability of FortiGate products.
Production Track Record and Cost Take Priority Over Leading-Edge Competition
Both companies bring Intel's ecosystem IP and expertise in disaggregated semiconductor design to SP6. Regarding advanced packaging, they stated it would be tailored to both AI-enabled use cases and cost-sensitive applications. However, this wording alone does not confirm that SP6 will use a chiplet-based architecture. Neither the number of dies nor the interconnect method has been disclosed.
The reasoning behind choosing Intel 4 has also not been revealed. What is confirmed is that Intel 4 has been in mass production since 2023 and is an EUV-generation process with a proven track record through Core Ultra products. For security ASICs, product value comes not necessarily from using the latest transistor generation, but from integrating the necessary dedicated circuitry within budget and power constraints, and ensuring stable long-term supply. SP6 serves as a test case for whether combining Intel's already-proven process and packaging technologies can meet these requirements.
It should also be noted that comparing Intel 4 and FortiSP5's 7nm process by node name alone cannot determine which manufacturing technology is superior. Process node names across semiconductor companies do not represent identical physical dimensions, and performance and density are also shaped by design libraries and intended use cases. What should be compared is not the naming, but the finished SP6's power consumption, processing performance, and cost.
Specifications and Production Timeline Will Determine Adoption
Fortinet explained that this collaboration will accelerate SP6 development while also diversifying its global supply chain. For Intel, it provides a track record of handling everything from design support to manufacturing for an external security product. The two companies say they will explore future collaboration opportunities in semiconductor technology and manufacturing, but they have made no commitments regarding product agreements beyond SP6.
A clear line also needs to be drawn regarding any change of supplier. While Fortinet announced SP5 as a 7nm product, it never disclosed the foundry that manufactured it. Therefore, there is no basis for concluding that SP6 represents a shift of production from a specific foundry to Intel. The only confirmed change at this point is that Intel will be involved in the design, packaging, and manufacturing of SP6.
SP6's architecture, performance, and power consumption details await future disclosure. The timing of sample shipments, the start of mass production, and which FortiGate product will first incorporate the chip also remain unknown. The claim of being Intel 4's first external design win will only translate into a concrete product achievement once Fortinet presents measurement conditions comparable to SP5, and once Intel proves it can supply the volumes its customer needs on schedule.