The American Intel Corp., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of computer components, plans to build enterprises to produce chips in Europe and will allocate up to $ 95 billion for this purpose.
ON TUESDAY, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the company intends to build two microprocessor factories in a new location and could potentially expand production further. At the same time, the total investment in 10 years will increase to the equivalent of 80 billion euros. The new capacity will meet the skyrocketing demand for semiconductors as computers, cars and gadgets become more demanding on chips, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Intel’s most significant competitors, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., have previously said they intend to spend substantial sums on building up production capacity in the coming years. Recently, the global shortage of chips has affected automakers, which are forced to reduce production volumes, suspend operations or transfer employees to shorter working hours.
Intel said it plans to use the manufacturing facility in Ireland to produce automotive chips. The company will also create a chip development team to help other manufacturers adapt their products to use Intel’s manufacturing facilities.
Gelsinger predicts that the automotive chip market will more than double by the end of the decade. Semiconductors will account for more than 20% of the cost of producing premium cars, up from 4% in 2019, he said. This is because new driver assistance capabilities, vibrant touchscreens and other computing-intensive features are becoming more accessible and widespread.
Intel’s expansion in Europe is part of Gelsinger’s ambition to make the company a significant manufacturer of custom microprocessors, making chips not only for its use but also for, for example, Qualcomm Inc. and the “cloud” division of Amazon.com Inc.
In March, Intel’s CEO promised to build two factories in Arizona at the cost of $ 20 billion. The company also allocated $ 3.5 billion to expand the facility in New Mexico. According to Gelsinger, a decision on the location of the new American plant will be made before the end of the year.