US President Joe Biden’s administration is in talks to confer more than US$10 billion in subsidies to Intel Corp, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be the largest award yet under a plan to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to US soil.
Intel’s award package is expected to include both loans and direct grants, the source said. They stressed that negotiations are still under way.
The US Department of Commerce and Intel declined to comment.
Photo: AFP
The incentives would come from the 2022 Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, which set aside US$39 billion in direct grants as well as loans and loan guarantees worth US$75 billion to get the world’s top semiconductor companies to manufacture chips in the US after decades of production abroad.
Chips firms have invested more than US$230 billion in the US since Biden took office, and the administration’s goal is to establish at least two leading-edge manufacturing clusters by 2030.
Intel dominated the chip industry for years but has recently fallen behind Asian rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, which are building their own US sites in Arizona and Texas. Intel chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has been the leading industry voice lobbying for US government support of the sector, and the firm has said its plans are contingent on that funding.
Intel is building a US$20 billion facility in Ohio, undergoing a US$20 billion expansion in Arizona and investing US$3.5 billion in New Mexico.
It is not yet clear how Intel’s award would be split between grants and loans, the source said.
Loan terms are company-specific, the source said, as are benchmarks that the Commerce Department would impose to disburse the funding over time.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has not said when its projects would begin commercial production.
The company has made significant progress in Ohio, a spokesperson said after the Wall Street Journal reported a delay from next year to 2026.
An administration official said that the timeline is in bounds with Intel’s initial projections and based on market factors, not award announcements.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS