In a move that had been rumored for a couple week, Intel announced today they will make Columbus, Ohio their next mega-site for semiconductor wafer manufacturing. The project would create 3000 Intel jobs and 7000 construction jobs. It would invest $20B in two leading-edge fabs, with construction beginning by the end of 2022 and production of wafers starting in 2025. This is the first new manufacturing site for Intel in 40 years. The land purchased for this site could accommodate up to 10 fabs at a total cost of $100B. The company did say “The scope and pace of Intel’s expansion in Ohio, however, will depend heavily on funding from the CHIPS Act.”
Press release here: https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1521/…
This is an earth-shaking announcement for the semiconductor industry, and will transform Ohio. It is the largest private investment in the history of the state. A site of this scale brings with it an entire ecosystem of suppliers and service providers, including ASML, Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA. It will also make Ohio State University a pre-eminent program for semiconductor engineering. I did not see this coming as there is no other semiconductor presence in Ohio, or anywhere in the upper midwest. This is a big step forward in on-shoring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S.
-S. Hughes (no INTC position)