Intel’s IDM 2.0 strategy going fairly well. The chipmaker’s plans to build advanced foundries on US soil are already in full swing. Team Blue’s Arizona fab is being expanded, with the construction of fabs 52 and 62 underway for an overall sum of $20 billion. These advanced facilities are slated to begin production of 4nm wafers by 2024 to bolster the supply of next-gen Meteor Lake and Granite Rapids processors.
In addition to the Arizona fab, the chipmaker has also invested $3.5 billion to upgrade its New Mexico foundry to improve advanced packaging capabilities. Intel plans to build its third major foundry complex for a whopping $100 billion. We’re talking about a 1,000-acre site, a mini-city of sorts with its own colleges, universities, schools, etc. The end goal of all this investment is to restore the US as a major producer of semiconductors.
From 37% in 1990 to 12% today, America’s manufacturing industry has rapidly surrendered to the growing influence of Taiwanese/Chinese firms, most notably TSMC.
In addition to expanding wafer production on US soil, Intel also plans to construct several foundries across Europe with the help of local governments. The European Union’s trade commissioner Thierry Breton has stated in an interview that Intel will be announcing the site and plans for the advanced foundry in the coming days.
At present, Intel’s primary fab in Europe is in Ireland. The company has already expressed that it won’t be building a new facility in the UK as it’s not part of the EU. Plans to build massively advanced foundries in Europe have surfaced multiple times with Italy, Germany, and France being primary candidates. The overall scale of the investment remains unknown, but as per rumors, it’ll be around $95 billion. This indicates a total of 6-8 foundries on the site capable of producing several thousand 4nm-class wafers per month.
