Intel is building two chip factories in the USA for 20 billion dollars (18 billion euros). Production based on state-of-the-art technologies in the facilities in the US state of Ohio is scheduled to begin in 2025, as the semiconductor giant announced on Friday.
In view of the current chip bottlenecks in particular, US politicians have recently increasingly called for semiconductor production to be brought more strongly into their own country. For decades, chip production has been concentrated primarily in Asia. According to Intel, Ohio will also produce for the security and infrastructure needs of the United States. The group described the more than 20 billion dollars as an initial investment.
Intel is also currently looking for a location for a planned new plant in Europe. The group is currently undergoing a strategic change: instead of just producing its own chips, Intel wants to increasingly act as a contract manufacturer for other suppliers. The factories in Ohio should also help with this.
The global shortage of chips triggered a wave of billions in investment in capacity expansion. As in the case of Intel, however, it will usually take several years before the new plants can start production. The bottlenecks were triggered, among other things, by the increased need for notebooks for working and learning from home due to the pandemic. However, some industry insiders argue that the scarcity was already apparent with the accelerated digitization of all areas.
Intel, long the undisputed leader in the semiconductor industry, has come under increasing pressure in recent years. Problems with the production technology delayed the introduction of a new generation of chips. As a result, smaller rival AMD was able to gain market share. Apple is also replacing Intel processors in its Mac computers with chips it has developed itself. They are based on the same architecture as the chips in iPhones. Chip privateers like Qualcomm now want to compete with Intel for a place in Windows PCs in a similar way.
