Intel to attend senate hearing on chipmaking case

On March 23, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger will testify in the US Senate for the $52.00 billion subsidies for the chip-manufacturing industry.

At the same time, executive officials of truckmaker Paccar and data storage maker Micron Technology will attest to the hearing.

Accordingly, the court case will look at vulnerabilities in semiconductor supply chains and the industry’s connection with American competitiveness.

On Wednesday, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell announced the schedule of the legal proceedings.

The bill may address US competitiveness with China on various issues. In addition, it may touch trade and some climate provisions.

Intel commented that it is glad to advocate for the significance of investing in American semiconductor leadership.

Last January, it announced to spend $100.00 billion in building the world’s largest chip-making complex in Ohio.

Similarly, Micron mentioned in October that it plans to fund $150.00 billion in leading-edge memory chip manufacturing.

The firm emphasized that funding from Congress would open the door to new industry investments.

The United States accounted for 40.00% of all chips worldwide in the last two decades. However, there is a significant decline in the figures for the preceding years.

At present, the world’s largest economy produces only 12.00% of the global output.

In line with this, US President Joe Biden met with executives of chipmakers last week. The meeting included South Korean giant Samsung Electronics.

This move aims to push the American Congress to fund subsidies in the sector to ease the semiconductor crunch.

Analysts explained that the government must be urgent to act. They noted that the chip shortage cost the global auto industry $210.00 billion in revenue in 2021.

In addition, the constraints also led to a loss of production of 7.70 million cars last year.

Intel’s $88B expansion plan

Furthermore, Intel also announced on Tuesday that it would invest up to $88.00 billion across Europe.

This move will widen chip production sites and establish research and development. This aims to build more design centers in Germany, Ireland, France, and Italy.

This ambitious expansion plan also targeted evening-out imbalances in the global semiconductor industry.

The persistent broad shortage of chips has halted production in the automotive and electronics sectors. This conflict further forced several companies to scale back production.

Correspondingly, the European Union announced a $47.00 billion Chips Act last month. This legislation will help the continent become a major semiconductor producer.

Additionally, the EU could curb its dependency on Asian markets for the tiny components.