Intel is spending at least $20B on chip manufacturing in Ohio
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Seeking to restore its edge in chipmaking technology, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has announced a whopping $20B investment for a massive new manufacturing facility near Columbus, Ohio. The company will build at least two semiconductor fabrication plants, or fabs, on the 1,000-acre site, though it has the option to eventually expand it to 2,000 acres and up to eight fabs. Construction will begin this year and the plant should be operational by 2025.


Quote: "Our expectation is that this becomes the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Time magazine. "We helped to establish the Silicon Valley. Now we're going to do the Silicon Heartland."
The investment plans come as the U.S. pushes to increase domestic manufacturing of semiconductors. Entire industries like auto manufacturing have been crippled over the past two years due to shortages, prompting the Senate to pass the $52B CHIPS for America Act in June (though it still needs to make its way through the House). In fact, the share of chips made in the U.S. has fallen to 12%, from 37% in 1990, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

Go deeper: It'll be tough restarting the chip manufacturing drive in America, where it costs 30% more to build and operate a fab over 10 years than it does in Taiwan, South Korea or Singapore. Moreover, Intel's chips made in U.S. will initially be sent to Asia for assembly, packaging and testing, though it hopes to bring everything back to the U.S. if the CHIPS for America Act gets funded. "My objective would be sand to product to services, all on American soil," Gelsinger declared, adding that the sand used to make semiconductors comes from the U.S. South.

Other efforts: Intel previously announced a $20B investment to build two fabs in Arizona, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) also earmarked $12B to build a semiconductor plant in the state and Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) is dishing out $17B for a chip plant in Texas. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) have also recently unveiled investment plans, while GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ:GFS) is building a smaller fab in upstate New York.