Intel pitches new fab plans as rebalancing of global supply chain

EE Times reports Intel is hyping up its new megafab in the US as a plan to rebalance the global semiconductor supply chain. The site says Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is urging US lawmakers to move fast to provide tax breaks and other incentives so Intel can build factories faster.

Gelsinger says the goal is to "build a little city" that will attract IC suppliers and chip designers. Rather than just extra production capacity for Intel, the company is pitching the plan as a way to revive American chip production and create a more resilient, globally balanced supply chain:

In an interview streamed by the Washington Post, Gelsinger said the new mega-fab would include between six and eight modules supporting leading-edge process and packaging technologies. Among the goals is “building a little city,” Gelsinger said, that would attract IC suppliers while becoming a hub for training chip designers and badly needed production engineers.

The new fab, costing as much as $15 billion, would be “entirely transformational,” Gelsinger asserted, as the U.S. seeks to recapture a greater share of global chip-making capacity.