In $20bn push, Intel hopes to make US chip-making great again

Intel plans to build two factories in Arizona in challenge to Taiwanese, South Korean advanced chip-making giants.

Intel Corp says it will greatly expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity as the United States-based technology giant’s new chief executive announced plans to spend as much as $20bn to build two factories in Arizona and open its plants to outside customers. The announcement by CEO Pat Gelsinger on Tuesday aims to restore Intel’s reputation after manufacturing stumbles sent shares plunging last year. The strategy will directly challenge the two other companies in the world that can make the most advanced chips, Taiwan’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. And it will aim to tilt a technological balance of power back to the US and Europe as government leaders on both continents have become concerned about the risks of a concentration of chipmaking in Taiwan given tensions with China.