Within six to nine months Intel will start manufacturing sought after semiconductors for car companies. According to CEO Pat Gelsinger, the chipmaking is already being discussed with companies that design chips for cars. As Intel is being squeezed out of market share elsewhere, they have identified the car market as a valuable one.
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“We’re hoping that some of these things can be alleviated, not requiring a three- or four-year factory build, but maybe six months of new products being certified on some of our existing processes,” Gelsinger told Reuters. “We’ve begun those engagements already with some of the key components suppliers.”
The new business is called Intel Foundry Services, which will be a “standalone foundry business unit.” The company will fabricate the new chips on its x86 architecture, as well as Arm. Intel will also invest $20 billion into expanding its manufacturing plants in the US to help it better meet demand from external partners.
The ongoing global chip shortage has hit car manufacturers hard, with major car companies like Ford and General Motors having to shut down production on certain models. Several of their bakkies have been changed due to the chip shortage. Intel hopes to step in here, to fill the gap and help car manufacturers get their production lines back up to demand.
