Intel to Spend $80 Billion on European Chip Plants
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 07, 2021
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In Munich, Germany for his first in-person keynote since taking over as Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger said that his firm has big plans for Europe. It will invest up to $80 billion on two new chip-making facilities on the continent as part of its multi-year strategy of ending the world’s silicon manufacturing reliance on China and other East Asia locations.
“This new era of sustained demand for semiconductors needs bold, big thinking,” he said. “As CEO of Intel, I have the great privilege to be in a position to marshal the energies of 116,000 employees and a massive chip-design and manufacturing ecosystem, to meet the demand.”
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Gelsinger intends for Intel to lead the push into ever more efficient chipset designs over the next decade, and he’s already announced dramatic expansions of Intel’s chipmaking capabilities in the United States. For Europe, Intel Foundry Services is already engaged in discussions with several major customers there, including leading automotive players that are currently feeling the pinch when it comes to component supply. He also said that Intel will commit foundry capacity at its Ireland-based fab specifically for advanced automotive chip manufacturing.
As for Intel, all of this work is part of his job of “turning around an icon,” he said.