The $20 billion will be directed to two planned factories that will be added to an existing campus in Arizona, creating 3,000 permanent high-tech, high-wage jobs; more than 3,000 construction jobs; and approximately 15,000 local long-term jobs.
Additional sites in the US and Europe will also be looked at to support Intel's increasing requirements and add capacity for Intel Foundry Services (IFS).
This new, standalone business unit will be led by semiconductor industry veteran Dr. Randhir Thakur, who will report directly to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger.
Thakur joined Intel as corporate VP of global supply management in 2017 and took on the role of chief supply chain officer in 2020.
IFS will be differentiated from other foundry offerings "with a combination of leading-edge process technology and packaging, committed capacity in the US and Europe, and a world-class IP portfolio for customers, including x86 cores as well as ARM and RISC-V ecosystem Ips".
According to the Gelsinger, IFS has customers signed up, but their names were not disclosed.
Gelsinger (pictured), returned to Intel as CEO in February replacing Bob Swan. His strategy is named IDM 2.0 and was unveiled during a global webcast Tuesday.
“We are setting a course for a new era of innovation and product leadership at Intel,” said Gelsinger.
“Intel is the only company with the depth and breadth of software, silicon and platforms, packaging, and process with at-scale manufacturing customers can depend on for their next-generation innovations. IDM 2.0 is an elegant strategy that only Intel can deliver – and it’s a winning formula. We will use it to design the best products and manufacture them in the best way possible for every category we compete in,” Gelsigner continued.
He added that Amazon.com Inc, Cisco Systems Inc, Qualcomm and Microsoft all back his plans. Further, Intel is to embark on an "important research collaboration" with IBM.
IBM and Intel teams in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Albany, New York, will be involved in the project, which is intended to "accelerate semiconductor manufacturing innovation across the ecosystem, enhance the competitiveness of the US semiconductor industry and support key US government initiatives."
