Technology giant Intel is set to receive up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans from the U.S. Government to re-establish American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.
Announced today (Mar. 20) from the Biden-Harris Administration, the investment under the CHIPS and Science Act, as well as Intel’s already proposed funding over the next five years, marks one of the largest investments ever announced in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
The CHIPS money is expected to include investments in Chandler in Arizona, Rio Rancho in New Mexico, New Albany in Ohio, and Hillsboro in Oregon.
In the Government-issued statement the impact of this funding is said to “directly create over 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs.”
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio says: “The innovation sparked by this proposed investment would strengthen America’s technological and research leadership and significantly help enhance our nation’s manufacturing capacity while strengthening communities and creating good-paying jobs.”
Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger describes this deal as being a “defining moment” as “AI is supercharging the digital revolution and everything digital needs semiconductors.
“CHIPS Act support will help to ensure that Intel and the U.S. stay at the forefront of the AI era as we build a resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain to power our nation’s future.”
The semiconductor competition wages on
There is fierce competition within the semiconductor industry as the likes of South Korea and the U.S. battle it out to become champions in the sector.
Earlier in the year, in January, Counterpoint Research released a study showing that South Korean Samsung has been ousted as the biggest earner from semiconductor manufacturing.
Intel took pole position with $50.5 billion in 2023 revenue, with the U.S. company taking a 9.7% market share that year. Samsung had an 8.3% share.
Featured Image: Photo by Slejven Djurakovic on Unsplash
