Intel and Fortinet announced a strategic collaboration to develop the next-generation Fortinet Security Processor 6 (SP6), combining Fortinet’s purpose-built ASIC expertise with Intel’s semiconductor design, advanced packaging, and manufacturing capabilities. The companies said the effort will accelerate development of Fortinet’s next-generation security processor while strengthening supply chain resilience through a more diversified manufacturing strategy.
The collaboration extends a long-standing relationship between the two companies and integrates Fortinet’s custom security silicon with Intel’s semiconductor IP portfolio, disaggregated chip design expertise, and advanced packaging technologies. The resulting SP6 processor is designed to support increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity services while delivering higher levels of performance, efficiency, and scalability for enterprise security infrastructure. Intel also highlighted the role of its manufacturing capabilities in helping customers diversify semiconductor supply chains.
The companies also plan to explore broader collaboration in semiconductor technology and manufacturing to support Fortinet’s long-term ASIC roadmap. The announcement underscores the growing importance of custom silicon in cybersecurity platforms, where specialized processors increasingly offload encryption, deep packet inspection, AI-assisted threat detection, and security services from general-purpose CPUs.
• Intel and Fortinet will jointly develop the Fortinet Security Processor 6 (SP6).
• Intel will contribute semiconductor design, packaging, manufacturing, and ecosystem IP capabilities.
• Fortinet brings more than two decades of experience designing proprietary security ASICs.
• The partnership aims to accelerate ASIC development while improving global supply chain resilience.
• SP6 is intended to support increasingly advanced security services with higher performance and efficiency.
• The companies will evaluate additional collaboration across future semiconductor and manufacturing technologies.
“Fortinet’s purpose-built ASICs have been a key differentiator for more than two decades, enabling us to deliver the security effectiveness, performance, and efficiency our customers demand. This expanded relationship with Intel will leverage its unique combination of advanced semiconductor technology, manufacturing expertise, and global supply chain capabilities, helping Fortinet accelerate and strengthen our ASIC strategy, while also better supporting organizations all over the world,” said Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Fortinet.
🌐 Analysis: The announcement reflects a broader trend toward domain-specific silicon across enterprise infrastructure. Just as hyperscalers increasingly deploy custom AI accelerators and networking ASICs, cybersecurity vendors continue investing in proprietary processors to improve throughput, reduce latency, and enable advanced inspection capabilities without relying solely on general-purpose CPUs. Supply chain diversification has also become a strategic priority following recent semiconductor disruptions, making manufacturing partnerships an increasingly important competitive differentiator.
Intel has recently emphasized its foundry, packaging, and advanced manufacturing capabilities as strategic assets beyond x86 processors. Collaborations such as this demonstrate how Intel is positioning its semiconductor services to support customers developing specialized ASICs across networking, AI infrastructure, and cybersecurity.
