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United States Intel

Intel's Money Woes Throw Biden Team's Chip Strategy Into Turmoil (bloomberg.com) 109

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
The Biden-Harris administration's big bet on Intel to lead a US chipmaking renaissance is in grave trouble as a result of the company's mounting financial struggles, creating a potentially damaging setback for the country's most ambitious industrial policy in decades. From a report: Five months after the president traveled to Arizona to unveil a potential $20 billion package of incentives alongside Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger, there are growing questions around when -- or if -- Intel will get its hands on that money. Intel's woes also may jeopardize the government's ability to reach its policy goals, which include establishing a secure supply of cutting-edge chips for the Pentagon and making a fifth of the world's advanced processors by 2030.

Intel is mired in a sales slump worse than anticipated and hemorrhaging cash, forcing its board to consider increasingly drastic actions -- including possibly splitting off its manufacturing division or paring back global factory plans, Bloomberg reported last week. That threatens to further complicate its quest for government funding, at a time when Intel desperately needs the help. The Silicon Valley company is supposed to receive $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, but only if the chipmaker meets key milestones -- and after significant due diligence. That process, which applies to all Chips Act winners, has been clear from the outset, and aims to ensure that companies only get taxpayer dollars once they've actually delivered on their promises. Intel, like other potential recipients, hasn't received any money yet.

Intel's Money Woes Throw Biden Team's Chip Strategy Into Turmoil More | Reply

Intel's Money Woes Throw Biden Team's Chip Strategy Into Turmoil

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  • I guess they should have backed AMD instead.

    • Re: Sigh! (Score:4, Informative)

      by AnnoyingBastard ( 8138122 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:03AM (#64761514)
      AMD has no manufacturing capacity whatsoever, and doesn't aspire to have it either.

      • Well, that's a bummer, man.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by CEC-P ( 10248912 )
        So you're saying they're the ones that'd benefit the most from having their own manufacturing capacity. Hmmm. Although, I do wonder how much of their tech patents are owned by TSMC and how many are their own.

    • I guess that someone needs to call up TSMC and ask them if they want a big grant to set up a new fab in the US?

      • To the best of my knowledge, that has already happened and it was some time last year.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sark666 ( 756464 )

          that has already happened. well there have been numerous delays, including US unions saying they should do all the work, while tsmc wants to bring in their people to get it done with their expertise, but they can't get the visas approved. so it's been a shit show.

      • Re:Sigh! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by korgitser ( 1809018 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:33AM (#64761634)
        Yeah $20B is about the price tag of a high end fab. But to put it in perspective, a top player like TSMC, Intel, or Samsung has more than $10B semiconductor tech spend in a quarter even witout putting up fabs. So Biden's $50B would last a single company about a year. Not much mileage in that, much less so what one could call industrial policy.

      • I guess that someone needs to call up TSMC and ask them if they want a big grant to set up a new fab in the US?

        I'd think it would be a smart move, and would disincentivize China from wanting to invade and occupy Taiwan. Bring TSMC talent here, where they can be better protected.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dynamo ( 6127 )

          They won't be better protected here unless we get single payer healthcare, and that isn't happening for probably a decade or two.

          • ...what?

            • It was a fairly easy-to-understand statement that they likely get better health care (protection) in Taiwan than they would get health insurance and bureaucratic runaround here.

              Currently typing this while my wife is on the phone trying to get our insurance company to pay for her mammogram from LAST YEAR that they are still contesting, saying that even though she went to an "in-network" provider and facility listed on the insurance company's directory, they say that a radiologist that we didn't ask for nor

              • My dude, we were talking about military matters, not healthcare, hence my confusion at what amounted to a nonsequitor from you, no offense intended.

                • hence my confusion at what amounted to a nonsequitor from you

                  I didn't post the original comment. Seems you may want to brush up on some reading skills, and do a little less assumption.

          • They won't be better protected here unless we get single payer healthcare, and that isn't happening for probably a decade or two.

            I believe this is what we refer to as a "single issue voter." =)

        • It's actually worse for Taiwan than the previous situation where in case of invasion half the world would be saying "Where's my chips" while glaring hatefully at China. Just for example, there's some bad blood between Russia and Ukraine, but Russia still pays Ukraine to transport their oil through the pipeline, then both spend that money on killing each other.

          Business is business, a deal is a deal, gotta keep the neighbors happy.

          But, chip manufacturing was expanding anyways, so it might as well be to the US

          • It's actually worse for Taiwan than the previous situation where in case of invasion half the world would be saying "Where's my chips" while glaring hatefully at China. Just for example, there's some bad blood between Russia and Ukraine, but Russia still pays Ukraine to transport their oil through the pipeline, then both spend that money on killing each other.

            Business is business, a deal is a deal, gotta keep the neighbors happy.

            But, chip manufacturing was expanding anyways, so it might as well be to the US.

            Considering that modern warfighting capability is leveraged heavily on having a technology advantage, I imagine they would be doing more than looking angrily at China. Invasion of Taiwan would decimate the military capabilities of the Unites States for instance because of our over-reliance on "smart" weaponry. We would have next to no choice than to go to war, with all options on the table.

            • Yeah, I think chips being vital to national security is a big part of this.

              Also, I'd say it's likely the US has a vast under-reliance on smart weaponry, pointing vaguely in the direction of drone warfare and the cost spent to shoot them down.

              • Yeah, I think chips being vital to national security is a big part of this.

                Also, I'd say it's likely the US has a vast under-reliance on smart weaponry, pointing vaguely in the direction of drone warfare and the cost spent to shoot them down.

                I'm more referencing the usage of smart bombs and cruise missiles, also things like the modern fighter-bomber aircraft like the F-35 and F-22 which are highly computerized.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sark666 ( 756464 )

          repeating my previous comment. that has already happened. well there have been numerous delays, including US unions saying they should do all the work, while tsmc wants to bring in their people to get it done with their expertise, but they can't get the visas approved. so it's been a shit show.

      • Do remember that ANY company that wants to take that Chips Act money must ALSO conform to the quotas for DEI, minority and female hires and ownership with subs, etc.

        There's a LOT of that written into that Act.....

        • Do remember that ANY company that wants to take that Chips Act money must ALSO conform to the quotas for DEI, minority and female hires and ownership with subs, etc.

          There's a LOT of that written into that Act.....

          You mean there’s a lot of regret written into an Act that probably isn’t worth chasing funding. Not in ann industry where manufacturing standards mean employees have to actually be competent. Not merely look like they might be.

      • Re:Sigh! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by organgtool ( 966989 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @01:59PM (#64762242)
        A major point of the project was to have chips fabbed by a US company. Our military and defense/security agencies would probably be safer if they were using chips designed and fabbed exclusively by US companies. Then again, if they had required that for all purchases within those agencies decades ago, there would have been fewer incentives to abandon chip fabs in the US. But who could have seen that coming, right?!

        • A major point of the project was to have chips fabbed by a US company. Our military and defense/security agencies would probably be safer if they were using chips designed and fabbed exclusively by US companies. Then again, if they had required that for all purchases within those agencies decades ago, there would have been fewer incentives to abandon chip fabs in the US. But who could have seen that coming, right?!

          I don't actually know when it changed and am too lazy to look currently, but the DoD did in fact require second-sources and sometimes third sources for products which were going into military hardware. That's why AMD exists as it does now, they were a second-source to Intel.

    • I guess they should have backed AMD instead.

      It’s quite amazing to me that a company that was directly targeted for billions in Government funding, is suddenly in dire straights afterwards. Which of course demands even MOAR Government funding. Because the billions they didn’t have before, wasn’t enough.

      The CHIPS Act was signed in 2022. There’s an acceptable amount of Government-grade slop and inefficiency we’ve come to expect, but if that money hasn’t been distributed by now, then the Act was nothing more than a

      • Re:Sigh! (Score:4, Informative)

        by Vlad_the_Inhaler ( 32958 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:24AM (#64761598)

        Firstly, is MOAR some new acronym?

        Secondly, the article stated

        The Silicon Valley company is supposed to receive $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, but only if the chipmaker meets key milestones -- and after significant due diligence. That process, which applies to all Chips Act winners, has been clear from the outset, and aims to ensure that companies only get taxpayer dollars once they've actually delivered on their promises. Intel, like other potential recipients, hasn't received any money yet.

        Which would have addressed your "concerns" if you had bothered to even read the summary.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by evanh ( 627108 )

        I think Intel is the one screwing up here. Government stimulus shouldn't just be handouts with no strings attached.

        What blows me away is enormous expensive of buying, supposedly, every one of the most expensive high-NA EUV lithography machines this year with no way to put them to immediate use. Admittedly, that's probably only a few machines but, still, you'd think the finances would be in order to take such a big plunge that won't even begin to pay itself back for many years to come. Maybe just one at a

      • I guess they should have backed AMD instead.

        It’s quite amazing to me that a company that was directly targeted for billions in Government funding, is suddenly in dire straights afterwards. Which of course demands even MOAR Government funding. Because the billions they didn’t have before, wasn’t enough.

        The CHIPS Act was signed in 2022. There’s an acceptable amount of Government-grade slop and inefficiency we’ve come to expect, but if that money hasn’t been distributed by now, then the Act was nothing more than a bullshit political move full of lies. Pathetic.

        I don't know. In this particular case, it's an odd pack of lies. The government promised to hand billions to private industry with the stated goal of bringing manufacturing back to the US. Traditionally, these handouts are simply that: a handout. In a weird way, the fact they managed to *NOT* follow through means we didn't see billions of taxpayer dollars shoveled into executive pockets for no reason. So, uh, I guess our government finally managed to do something sorta semi-fiscally responsible. Granted, it

      • Re:Sigh! (Score:4, Insightful)

        by cmseagle ( 1195671 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:56AM (#64761734)

        The CHIPS Act was signed in 2022... if that money hasn’t been distributed by now, then the Act was nothing more than a bullshit political move full of lies.

        Making distribution contingent on hitting certain milestones is just good procurement. If, for example, the bill provides $10bn for building the fab $10bn for subsidized production due to start in ~2030, make them show they can actually build the thing before handing over the production cash.

        I have no idea how the CHIPS act is structured or how well it's being managed, but I can say that "was the full subsidy distributed within 2 years" is a terrible metric for "is this program effective." For something that meant to pay dividends for a decade+, I'd say it'd be a sign of the exact opposite.

        • It's structured, essentially as rebates. From the summary:

          The Silicon Valley company is supposed to receive $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, but only if the chipmaker meets key milestones -- and after significant due diligence. That process, which applies to all Chips Act winners, has been clear from the outset, and aims to ensure that companies only get taxpayer dollars once they've actually delivered on their promises. Intel, like other potential recipients, hasn't received any money yet.

          If Intel doesn't make their milestones, they get the square root of jack shit. That's why they are in a financial pickle right now - they need to finish building their shit and getting it operational in order to get repaid the up-front capital.

  • I'm not a China-phile, but why couldn't we just pay the money to the Chinese and have them build and manufacture chips for us? End result would be cheaper and more abundant CPUs, how is that bad? Cheaper laptops can't be bad.

    • You are clearly a supporter of the new GOP. (Score:4, Informative)

      by mmell ( 832646 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:29AM (#64761618)

      Unlike the new GOP, our government has to follow at least its own rules - one of which is that we're not allowed to use Chinese manufactured IT equipment in any sensitive situation. Something about them being our enemy, I dunno.

      By the way - in case you need a scorecard:

      Russia - bad

      France - good

      China - bad

      Ukraine - good

      North Korea - bad

      United States - good

      USSR - bad

      NATO - good

      KKK - bad

      UN - good

      Does that help?

      • There is no USSR anymore.
        Also the UN is only so-so at best, since they can't seem to actually do anything.

        • > There is no USSR anymore.

          Tell that to Putin.

          > Also the UN is only so-so at best, since they can't seem to actually do anything.

          The UN is a discussion forum. By design. Complaining they can't do anything is like complaining Slashdot can't do anything.

          • Still. there is no USSR currently. We're trying very hard to ensure there isn't a USSR 2.0, but some people are trying to derail that.
            • No, you are trying really hard to start WWIII. You can fuck off now you neocon chick shit.
              • Yes, I'm such a neo-conservative that I hate Trump with a passion and are voting for Harris and all Democrats staight down the ticket in November.
                Do me a favor and eat shit and die, mmkay? Calling me what you just called me is a mortal insult in 2024, so GET CORRECT.

        • There is no USSR anymore.

          Also the UN is only so-so at best, since they can't seem to actually do anything.

          The absolute weak-dick responses of NATO and the UN to the Russians heading into Ukraine explain entirely why Putin was able to do it in the first place.

          If all you have is words and some economic sanctions, you are totally dickless. Russia should have been put in their place with explosive ordinance back in 2014 or thereabouts, but that ship has sailed.

        • Actually the Russian Federation is pretty much USSR, just that it lost some of the former "republics" and they hope to get them back.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by iamhigh ( 1252742 )
        Bro really took a non-political question, and instead of just explaining the answer (which is somewhat political) had to bring up political parties and then went into a minor rant about which countries are bad but decided to include a hate group, a couple international organizations and a former country and really thought he did something. There's a reason nobody invites you places.

        • /. moderation seems to bear out my choice - but if we're to discuss a complete lack of netiquette, let us start with your post, shall we? You've managed to make it personal when it shouldn't be. I was responding to the assertion that the US should surrender the manufacture of integrated circuit chips to the Chinese as a matter of government policy. The (biased?) headline of TFA establishes the political aspect of this entire discussion, as does @backslashdot's attempted disclaimer "I'm not a China-phile"

          • No, you made it political. Brainwashed leftists just tend not to be able to recognize it.

            Also there a modded up comment right now claiming Taylor Swift has done more for mental health than anything else in our history. So, great company there, nerd.
    • Are you fucking kidding me?
      Why not just skip the middle steps in that and just hand over all American-engineered silicon IP to them since they'd steal it anyway?

    • Only if they annex Taiwan (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Somervillain ( 4719341 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:41AM (#64761666)

      I'm not a China-phile, but why couldn't we just pay the money to the Chinese and have them build and manufacture chips for us? End result would be cheaper and more abundant CPUs, how is that bad? Cheaper laptops can't be bad.

      Chinese chips are absolute garbage. You're either the most poorly informed person on slashdot or a troll, but for everyone else...China is lagging far behind us. Taiwan is leading the world in semi-conductor production and we're pouring money into Intel in order to have a Plan B in case China invades Taiwan.

      Most knowledgeable on the subject believe that if any military action, of any sort or scale, happens against Taiwan, TSMC will be GREATLY impacted as they're dependent on a lot of imports and delicate supply chain machinery. Also, the people of Taiwan aren't too fond of being invaded by China and there's a LOT of delicate equipment in each fab. All it takes is one minor act of sabotage in one step and output grinds to a halt. Most experts believe that if China annexes Taiwan, TSMC will cease to operate completely, despite Beijing's wishes. Nearly every qualified engineer will flee the country, many will sabotage the expensive equipment that can only be made in the Netherlands...and will never get replaced due to impending sanctions.

      You thought COVID was bad? Your life will suck if TSMC goes down for 3 months or just stops operating. TMK, the only other choices are Intel and Samsung...and neither are up to the tasks of supplying the world's ravenous chip needs.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Hodr ( 219920 )

        Most experts believe that if China annexes Taiwan, TSMC will cease to operate completely, despite Beijing's wishes. Nearly every qualified engineer will flee the country, many will sabotage the expensive equipment that can only be made in the Netherlands...and will never get replaced due to impending sanctions.

        It isn't that it can "only be made in the Netherlands", it's that ASML has most of the IP for EUV patterning tightly locked up. The critical components that the ASML machines make use of are the EUV light source, and the lenses. The light source is produced in the US by Cymer (who was conveniently bought-out by ASML, but still operates out of San Diego) and the optics are made by a Zeiss (a German company), but as many of the most advanced optics and mirrors in the world (the ones made for billion dollar

      • All it takes is one minor act of sabotage in one step and output grinds to a halt.

        Or a single 2,000 pound JDAM dropped through the roof.

        I have no doubt that if China tried to invade, the very first thing that would happen would be some kind of sequence of large-order explosions in critical locations within those facilities.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Agripa ( 139780 )

        Nothing needs to happen for the TSMC fabs to become inoperable after China invades Taiwan. The advanced machinery depends on support contracts from ASML and others and without those it becomes unusable in short order.

    • Because unless you are a fluent Chinese speaker and like going to jail for wrongthink, the US needs to make its own chips, or at least only get them from allies.

    • Found a Slashdot engagement account. This take is so bad it must be just to stir up comments, right?

    • I'm not a China-phile, but why couldn't we just pay the money to the Chinese and have them build and manufacture chips for us? End result would be cheaper and more abundant CPUs, how is that bad? Cheaper laptops can't be bad.

      National security, that's why.

      If we were confident that Chinese suppliers would continue providing chips indefinitely, your suggestion would indeed be a great strategy, and indeed it would be the default strategy the free market would pursue. Alternatively, if there were big chip fabs in European countries, with whom we have a solid and reliable relationship, we could apply your suggested strategy there.

      In fact, the fabs that we care about aren't even in China, they're in Taiwan, and Taiwan is a good fr

      • We could buy defense related chips and other small value stuff from Europe/NATO countries. How many F-22s do we buy every year compared to laptops? But that aside, my comment was more from frustration. Buying from China is better than paying Intel billions of dollars and then they go out of business. Not only are we out billions of dollars, but also we don't have any chips. This is the same thing that happened with Solyndra. Remember that? We gave them a half a billion dollars and they went bankrupt within

        • We could buy defense related chips and other small value stuff from Europe/NATO countries.

          We could if they made them. They don't. We could try to incentivize allies to build chip fabs, of course, but why not do it here?

          How many F-22s do we buy every year compared to laptops?

          Doesn't really matter. Laptops are also essential for national security. Protecting the consumer goods pipeline is almost as important as protecting the pipeline of actual defense materiel.

          Buying from China is better than paying Intel billions of dollars and then they go out of business. Not only are we out billions of dollars, but also we don't have any chips.

          Which is why the Chips Act has milestone requirements, to make sure that we don't do that. Or at least to reduce the probability. As the summary says, the money hasn't been disbursed yet, and

    • The entire point is so that all semiconductor fabs aren't in Taiwan for when China inevitably invades, or just blockades it.

    • Because there's a whole catalog of technology that we'd rather we didn't export to China for them to steal and distribute to every dictatorship on the planet. Military technology. Manufacturing technology that enables military technology. That kind of thing.

      Glad I could help.

  • The Silicon Valley company is supposed to receive $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, but only if the chipmaker meets key milestones -- and after significant due diligence. That process, which applies to all Chips Act winners, has been clear from the outset, and aims to ensure that companies only get taxpayer dollars once they've actually delivered on their promises. Intel, like other potential recipients, hasn't received any money yet.

    Surely, if Intel's board are extra nice, they can get an exception? I'm actually flatly shocked that there were built-in milestones necessary. Most of the time this type of cash handout is just, "Here ya go. Pretend to swish it around in the air a bit before you hand it to your executives. See ya next funding round." But? I have faith that the current financial woes won't be met with indifference. Oh no, it's much more important to keep shoveling taxpayer funds at failing corporations. I mean, those executi

  • Fortunately, there are no signs of turmoil in the Harris campaign (unlike the other campaign which is obviously still recovering from Biden's unexpected voluntary withdrawl from politics and their stinging loss in 2020).

    Whatever will the Harris campaign's opponent find to complain about, the lack of effective geriatric care for rich people here in the US?

    • Fortunately, there are no signs of turmoil in the Harris campaign

      Err, let's see, about a month ago it was the Biden/Harris campaign.

      It's now just the Harris campaign. Nothing else has changed....same folks, same campaign....

      Same responsibilities for the past 3 dismal years....

      • Don't have an abortion, man!

        Ukrainian Nazis are as much a thing as Moon Nazis.

        Pollution doesn't kill, windmills do.

        We need to defend the right to bear arms so that students can return fire when there's a school shooting.

        Aliens are poisoning Earth's lifeblood - we need to build a wall in the sky.

        If I like it, it's legal. I'll even issue pardons for it and do it with my daughter.

        . . .

        • We need to defend the right to bear arms so that students can return fire when there's a school shooting.

          Well, you got one right...assuming this is for 18yr + olds on college campuses....

        • Also...please note.

          Trump did NOT say Neo Nazi's and White Supremeacists were fine people. [snopes.com]

          For some reason, Biden and Harris keep repeating the lie...and no one from MSM (ABC, CBS, NBC) or even CNN or MSNBC will call them on it.

          • Historical revisionism only works when there's nobody left who can remember what happened.

            • Historical revisionism only works when there's nobody left who can remember what happened.

              I do remember seeing it too...and I heard Trump specifically speak against the Nazi's and White Supremacists ....I heard him condemn then, but you won't get the liberal media to show that part of his speech.

          • The link provided is flawed. In fact, though, Trump said there were fine people on both sides. One of those sides included the Proud Boys.

            So basically, you're trying to split hairs. Trump had a full-on neo-Nazi visit him at his place in Florida. He likes Nazis almost as much as all those Republicans who crashed Grindr at their recent convention like...tators (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

  • By market cap, AMD is substantially bigger now than Intel. They should be able to work out a stock and cash deal with some help from DC to take in the good parts of Intel (R&D and manufacturing) and liquidate the rest.

    AMD should absolutely act on it because relying on an Asian fabs gets dumber each year as the PLA Navy grows stronger and more capable of blockading Taiwan to a degree that the USN couldn't break without horrific casualties. (South Korean, Japanese and Singapore fabs are already well withi

    • market cap doesn't mean volume actually making things. That's just the 3 H U.S. market fundamentals of hope, hype and hooey. Intel makes 3/4 the stuff of the market, AMD less than 1/4

    • I don't think anybody here in the US is ready to nationalize chip manufacturing. It's bad enough we can't even agree to fully federalize our national power grids, let alone other energy, water and utility services which are fundamental to life in our country. I'm quite certain the bulk of the US population would rather not move that much further from pure free enterprise towards socialism.

      Before what I've just said is intentionally misunderstood, there are a great many things which the US government can

      • I'm sure the Harris administration will adjust and continue this effort.

        You have a lot of faith in someone who cannot put together 2-3 coherent sentences without notes or a teleprompter....

        But, at least she IS consistantly unburdened by the past....

    • This is Intel vs TSMC, not AMD!!! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Somervillain ( 4719341 ) on Wednesday September 04, 2024 @11:54AM (#64761722)

      By market cap, AMD is substantially bigger now than Intel. They should be able to work out a stock and cash deal with some help from DC to take in the good parts of Intel (R&D and manufacturing) and liquidate the rest.

      AMD should absolutely act on it because relying on an Asian fabs gets dumber each year as the PLA Navy grows stronger and more capable of blockading Taiwan to a degree that the USN couldn't break without horrific casualties. (South Korean, Japanese and Singapore fabs are already well within missile range of the PLA)

      So you must be pretty young or have a goldfish memory if you think life was good when Intel dominated the chip market. For the non-trolls, Intel has a long history of abusing their position. In the Pentium era, they'd specifically hold back processor innovations because they could...they had a monopoly. Once Cyrix and later AMD came out with alternative chips...only then we get clockspeed increases and the dreaded MMX hand grenade...an anti-competitive instruction set extension designed to kill alternative chips.

      Without competition, chip manufacturers don't put much work into their products. It's a license to print money if you don't have to improve or innovate. History has shown us this many many times. Life WILL suck if AMD is the only game in town for servers and desktops. Sorry...no one is making enough ARM chips to handle our server needs. They're cool laptops and such....but...your life will get tangibly worse if x86 is reduced to a single vendor.

      Finally, and I think you already knew this, but for everyone else...this is much bigger than Biden vs Trump. The administration is investing, with the encouragement of the entire fucking world, including TSMC, into having alternative fabs. AMD vs Intel is irrelevant. Xi is clearly irrational at this point and cares more about weird military flexing more than saving the Chinese economy. The vast majority of the world's fab capacity is all on this one island which China keeps flirting with invading. If they do, fab production shuts down...will probably NEVER restart again with original capabilities...and it's quite unwise to have nearly all fo the world's fab capacity controlled by one company....even if Taiwan wasn't under constant military threat. We need Intel to step up and be able to compete with TSMC...both to boost our economic output as well as protect us from potential abuse from TSMC down the road.

      • If we can keep our Windows 10 computers, we won't need a new chip plant. The chips we have are good enough.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by m00sh ( 2538182 )

        China is barred from using TSMC. It has really helped Apple keep their business by killing off competition from Huawei.

        It is a felony in the USA to help China in semi-conductors. It is to stop people in Taiwan who have ties to the US to help China in their semi-conductor industry no matter how much the financial incentives are.

        You want competition but Intel doesn't want competition. The US doesn't want competition from China.

        The whole idea of competition is solely from which camp you're in. If you're an Int

      • It's not just about fab versus fab. Intel has fabs, but they have poor management.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kriston ( 7886 )

        Sorry...no one is making enough ARM chips to handle our server needs.

        Amazon's AWS might have a bone to pick with you.

        • Sorry...no one is making enough ARM chips to handle our server needs.

          Amazon's AWS might have a bone to pick with you.

          While it's true that most people who have their act together and can move to the cloud have, some apps require on-prem installations and probably a huge amount more are just run by organizations that either don't want to move to the cloud or don't have their act together enough to do the migration. It's easier to keep replacing servers in their server-room like they have for 20 years now. For every COBOL app, you imagine there's probably more legacy VB, struts, Ruby apps, etc that work just fine, on serve

    • More consolidation is never good for anything. And is AMD really a US company anymore?
  • Would Canada be a good place to build chips? They have some wonderful social benefits the U.S. does not, and a quick Google search showed me there are factories up there that produce chips.

  • Why not entice AMD to expand Global Foundries to the US instead of using chipmaking plants in Taiwan? Is AMD that much separate from GF to be able to do this?

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