Intel Core Ultra Series 3 Arrives: First 2nm ‘Panther Lake’ Chips Push AI PCs Forward

At CES 2026, Intel unveiled the Core Ultra Series 3, its first processors built on the Intel 18A process node. These chips, codenamed Panther Lake, mark a major milestone in Intel’s roadmap, introducing RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery to achieve significant gains in efficiency and performance. The Series 3 lineup is positioned as Intel’s flagship AI PC platform, with over 200 designs expected worldwide, and represents the company’s most ambitious step into AI-native computing.

For an uninitiated, Intel’s 18A process node is Intel’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, a 2nm‑class node that introduces two major innovations: RibbonFET (gate‑all‑around transistors) and PowerVia (backside power delivery). Together, they deliver higher performance per watt, greater transistor density, and improved scalability for AI and high‑performance computing.

An Intel® Core™ Ultra series 3 processor. (Credit: Intel Corporation)

The processors deliver up to sixteen cores, including twelve efficiency cores, and show dramatic improvements compared to the prior Lunar Lake generation. Intel claims a sixty percent boost in multithreaded performance, seventy-seven percent faster gaming, and battery life extending up to twenty-seven hours in laptops. AI acceleration is central to the design, with up to eighty total TOPS of compute, fifty NPU TOPS, and one hundred twenty GPU TOPS through integrated Xe3 graphics. Memory support reaches ninety-five gigabytes, while maintaining full x86 compatibility for existing applications. The new Core Ultra X9 and X7 headline the range, targeting both creative professionals and gamers.

Compared to Lunar Lake, which was built on Intel 20A and focused on AI-centric V-series designs, Panther Lake represents a broader leap. It combines higher core counts, stronger GPU performance, and longer battery life, while shifting Intel’s competitive positioning against rivals like AMD and Apple, who are also advancing their own AI-focused architectures. Intel emphasized that these chips are designed and manufactured in the United States, underscoring its strategy of semiconductor independence and leadership in advanced nodes.

In essence, Core Ultra Series 3 is not just another generational upgrade—it signals Intel’s transition into the AI-first PC era, blending cutting-edge transistor engineering with practical gains in performance, efficiency, and ecosystem adoption.