Intel CEO Gelsinger says that the global chip shortage might take years to resolve
The global chip shortage could continue for a few more years Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said Monday during a virtual session of the Computex trade show in Taipei. With people working and attending school from home thanks to the pandemic, this has led to a period of strong demand for devices like smartphones and tablets that require semiconductors.
It still might take some time for the chip market to return to normal. As Gelsinger notes, "But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components." In March, Intel said that it would spend $20 billion to build two fabs in Arizona as it tries to take business away from companies looking to have their chip designs turned into components.
By becoming a contract manufacturer and taking advantage of the foundries it owns, Intel hopes to compete with the world's top two independent foundries: Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung Foundry. The former manufacturers Apple's "A" and "M" lines of SoCs, MediaTek's Dimensity chips and more. Samsung builds Qualcomm's Snapdragon line of chipsets and modem chips (including the Snapdragon 5G modem chips).
The U.S. hopes to become a major player in the business of supplying chips to electronics firms like TSMC
With two-thirds of advanced chips manufactured in Asia, the U.S. has been looking to become a semiconductor power itself. Intel's Gelsinger says, "We plan to expand to other locations in the US and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world." TSMC is also building as many as six production facilities in the U.S. over the next three years.
Will the U.S. eventually become a player in the chip industry? That is what the goal is, but it is still too early to say.
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