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Daily Authority: šŸ”Ø Intel's $20B for new fabs

Intel's Ohio move, Galaxy S22 series pricing, plus more tech news you need to know today!
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January 24, 2022
Intel Expansion Ohio 2 1

šŸŽ‚ Good morning! Another lap around the sun for me!

Intel’s $20B bet

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Andy Walker / Android Authority

On Friday, Intel announced (with President Biden and Ohio governor Mike DeWine in attendance) that it would unload $20B (and up to $100B) to build the ā€œlargest silicon manufacturing location on the planetā€ in Ohio in the US, on a 1,000-acre location with two ā€œleading-edge fabs,ā€ with space for up to eight in total, becoming operational by 2025.

  • Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company expects the new ā€œSilicon Heartlandā€ site to become ā€œthe largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet.ā€
  • It’ll be Intel’s first new US manufacturing site location in 40 years, and the first outside the West Coast.
  • That adds risks of midwest snow and ridiculously costly power outages, but building a new site will, in theory, see lots of risk mitigation, and Ohio suffers less from the water shortfalls of Arizona.
  • But Intel is prying open the wallets of governments, too, hinting at spending more if more tax breaks come their way.
  • For those craving technical details, it’s a little slim. Intel didn’t exactly say what process node it’ll be cranking out wafers with by 2024, just putting out that it will be using the ā€œindustry’s most advanced transistor technologies.ā€
  • When aligned with Intel’s current roadmap, you get the ā€œ18Aā€ process, four generations newer than Intel’s current node.
  • Gelsinger also hinted at a ā€œ2nm and belowā€ process.
  • I saw one suggestion that this timeline aligns with ASML’s high-NA EUV machines. ASML, of course, makes the machines that make chips.
  • I also saw commentators worried this was a Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) 2.0 situation, but it looks wildly different to that oddity.

Meanwhile, Intel isn’t alone in spending money to make money. TSMC is forecasting a $100B spend over three years to keep up with demand.

More: Here’s how Ohio won a bid by Intel to build the world’s largest chip factory (The Columbus Dispatch).

Roundup:

Monday Meme

Wordle memes continues to delight me:

wordle meme 1

Cheers – off to get some cake!

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor