Intel has launched its Xeon 6+ CPU, targeting artificial intelligence (AI) networks and data center applications.

Unveiled by the company at Mobile World Congress, currently taking place in Barcelona, the processor – codenamed “Clearwater Forest” – is Intel’s most advanced CPU to date.

Fabricated using the company’s 18A (1.8nm) process node technology, the Xeon 6+ CPUs contain up to 288 E-cores (Efficiency-cores) that combine 12 chiplets on a single packet, alongside three base tiles made using Intel’s 7nm technology and two I/O tiles made using 10nm technology. The chiplets also contain 24 energy-efficient Darkmont cores per tile.

Each Intel Xeon 6+ CPU has 12 memory channels capable of supporting DDR5-8000, in addition to 96 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and 64 CXL 2.0 lanes.

Featuring Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX), QuickAssist Technology (QAT), and Intel vRAN Boost technologies, in a blog post, Kevork Kechichian, EVP & GM of Intel’s Data Center Group, said the CPUs will unify “RAN, Core, Edge AI, and security on one open platform architecture to turn infrastructure into opportunity on the road to 6G.”

Kechichian went on to outline three customer use cases in his blog, including a partnership between AT&T, Ericsson, and Intel to build a “open, programmable and reliable RAN network” powered by Intel Xeon hardware. Rakuten Mobile and Vodafone have also committed to deploying Intel Xeon 6 processors, he noted.

“As customer needs evolve toward platforms that offer predictable performance, strong reliability, and efficient scalability to reduce TCO, Intel is advancing to the next step in the Xeon 6 roadmap: Intel Xeon 6+,” Kechichian wrote. “From 5G infrastructure to cloud‑native applications, these processors are engineered to optimize performance, efficiency, and cost, redefining data center economics on the road to 6G.”

Intel launched its Xeon 6700/6500 series in February 2025. Describing them as the “ideal CPU for modern data centers” due to their ability to pair “exceptionally well with a GPU as a host node CPU,” the Intel Xeon 6 portfolio delivers an average of 1.4x better performance when compared to 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors across a “wide range of enterprise workloads.”

According to Intel, the Xeon 6+ series is expected to launch in the first half of 2026.