Published on :
In the midst of a shortage of semiconductors, the American giant Intel, which specializes in electronic chips, announced on Friday January 21 the forthcoming opening of two new factories in the United States. A huge investment of 20 billion dollars to secure supply.
Short-circuit semiconductors to avoid supply problems, that’s Intel’s strategy. The American giant, which invented the microprocessor in the 1970s, dominated the global semiconductor industry for decades. But it has now lost its luster. Competition from Asian cross-country skiers. And not really state-of-the-art anymore.
The global shortage of electronic components may be an opportunity for Intel to rebound because many sectors such as the automotive industry, telephony, or medical equipment, are suffering from the instability of the supply chain.
► Read also : Semiconductors: how to get out of the crisis?
The production of chips in these two new American factories, which will be installed near the capital of the State of Ohio, Columbus, might start from 2025. Sites closer to consumers and also job creators since Intel plans to hire 3,000 people for these sites. These are the objectives set by the boss of the Intel group Pat Gelsinger to return to compete with Samsung and especially the Taiwanese leader TSMC.
One “ historic investment “Welcomes Joe Biden
« It is a truly historic investment in the United States and for American workers. “Reacted the American president from the White House, seeing it as a way to ensure the country’s economic independence in the future. Currently regarding 4% of car components are semiconductors, recalled Joe Biden, but in 2030, these will represent 20% of automobile manufacturing. General Motors has already experienced in 2021 a drop in car production attributed to the shortage of semiconductors.
Intel will also invest in Europe. Nearly 80 billion euros over ten years for the construction of factories, no doubt in Germany and France, where at the end of last year the lack of semiconductors led a shortage of consoles and cameras. Establishing a foothold in order to outdo Asian suppliers and develop semiconductor production capacities on the continent.
► ► Read also : Semiconductor manufacturers are doing well