Josh Norem
2024-03-20 12:04:32
www.extremetech.com
Intel can finally pop the cork on that champagne bottle it purchased in 2022 when the CHIPS Act was signed into law. The company has been waiting patiently for almost two years to see how much of the roughly $52 billion in funding earmarked for US semiconductor development would be flowing into its coffers, and it’s now official: almost $20 billion. The disbursement from the government to Intel includes up to $8.5 billion in grants and up to $11 billion in loans, which the company will use to build new facilities and upgrade existing ones.
Reuters is reporting the Biden administration is poised to announce the preliminary agreement at an event in Arizona, where Intel has a sizable number of fabrication facilities. It’s being reported that the company will use the funds to build two new factories and upgrade one existing facility. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo summarized the investment with Intel: “It means leading-edge semiconductors made in the United States of America.” The US currently produces zero percent of the world’s most advanced chips, as they’re all made in Taiwan. At the same time, the US portion of global semiconductor manufacturing has also fallen from 37% in 1990 to just 12% in 2020, according to Reuters.
Intel’s new packaging facility cost the company $3.5 billion to create over more than two years, and will be focused on its Foveros chip-stacking technology.
Credit: Intel
This new round of funding by the government aims to reverse both of those numbers. Since it will take years for new factories to be constructed, it’s expected that by 2030, the US will be responsible for up to 20% of the global tally for advanced chip production. It also indicates the Biden administration is leaning heavily on Intel to bolster US chip-making efforts as opposed to TSMC, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, Micron, and others. Intel is by far the biggest recipient of CHIPS Act funds thus far, which was always expected to be the outcome when the law was passed due to Intel’s size, history, and influence as an American-based company.
Reuters states Intel has earmarked the new funding to help with several of its existing projects in various locations. It will use some of the funding for its facility in Ohio, which has now been delayed several times due to a variety of issues. In addition, it’s expected to divert some funding to its R&D facility in Oregon, where it’s assembling the world’s first high-NA EUV lithography machine. It’s also likely to spend some cash on its various Arizona projects while investing in its new packaging facility in New Mexico. Reuters states both TSMC and Samsung are expected to announce new funding deals with the Biden administration in the coming weeks.