Intel
Intel’s recent Time They revealed their latest semiconductor construction plan. It is reported that they will spend $20 billion to build what CEO Pat Gelsinger calls “the largest chip manufacturing plant on earth” in New Albany, Ohio, USA. The factory will cover 1,000 acres, and Intel’s initial plan is to build two semiconductor processing plants and create 3,000 jobs. Construction of the plant is expected to start this year, and if all goes well, it will be operational by 2025.
According to a Bloomberg report late last year, the White House has been “strongly discouraging” Intel from scaling up chip manufacturing in mainland China. Authorities hope that manufacturers can put their chip production operations in the United States to gradually alleviate the impact of chip shortages. And the business side has not been idle either. Many companies have been lobbying the government to request more financial assistance for their semiconductor R&D and manufacturing. According to Intel, they decided to open the new factory in Ohio after examining 38 different sites in the United States, because the local area provides sufficient space without the hassle of relocating residents. After the new plant is completed, it will be used to produce Intel’s own chips as well as foundry for Intel Foundry Services customers.
It is worth mentioning that, Gelsinger also revealed that in the future when the need arises, the area of the Ohio factory can be expanded to 2,000 acres, and the total number of semiconductor processing plants can also be increased to eight. “We built Silicon Valley,” Gelsinger told Time. “It’s time to build Silicon Heartland.”