Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger is on the move visiting customers and suppliers in Asia in an attempt to shake up an industry that has fallen victim to a global pandemic and geopolitical ructions.
Gelsinger is traveling to Taiwan, Japan and India, a person familiar with his itinerary said.
As part of the trip, he is to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s foremost contract chipmaker, which now counts Intel as a client, the person said.
Photo: AFP
The company is not expected to make any significant announcements during the trip.
In addition to TSMC, Intel has other key suppliers in Taiwan and Japan. The company depends on Tokyo Electron for chipmaking equipment, while it relies on Ibiden Co and Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子) for Ajinomoto build-up film substrates, materials required for the packaging process.
The leader of the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker has had a busy first year in charge of the company, tasked with turning back a tide of competition that has weighed on its stock price and earnings.
Gelsinger announced two major chip manufacturing hubs, one in Ohio and another in Germany.
He has called for greater investment from North America and Europe to expand chipmaking capacity in their regions, and make a supply chain largely concentrated in Asia more resilient.
Pointing to the chip crunch that has left industries from automaking to smartphones short of crucial components, Gelsinger has urged governments to “not waste this crisis” as it is a matter of national security, as well as good economics.
“Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and other members of the Intel team will be increasing local engagements with employees, customers, partners, suppliers and other key stakeholders in various regions around the world,” an Intel representative said. “These engagements are vital as we and others in the industry work together to drive innovation and restore balance and resilience to the global supply chain.”
AI AIM: The chipmaker wants joint research and development programs with the Czech Republic, and the government is considering supporting investments in a Czech location Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is planning to build more plants in Europe with a focus on the market for artificial intelligence (AI) chips as the chipmaker expands its global footprint, a senior Taiwanese official said. “They have started construction of the first fab in Dresden; they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,” National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) told Bloomberg TV in an interview that aired yesterday. Wu did not specify a timeline for TSMC’s further expansion in Europe. TSMC in an e-mailed statement said it
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
WEAK DEMAND: A further decline in China’s consumer price index has prompted renewed calls for fiscal stimulus before deflationary expections become entrenched China’s consumer inflation unexpectedly eased last month, while producer price deflation deepened, heightening pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus measures quickly to revive flagging demand and shaky economic activity. Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Foan (藍佛安) told a news conference on Saturday there would be more “counter-cyclical measures” this year, but officials did not provide details on the size or timing of the fiscal stimulus being prepared, which investors hope would ease deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier last month, the slowest in three months, compared with