Biden Administration Invests in Intel, $8.5 Billion in Grants and $11.9 Billion in Loans

“Largest Ever Funding Under CHIPS Act”

The Biden Administration is pushing for funding support of $19.5 billion for the semiconductor manufacturer Intel.

According to Bloomberg News on the 20th (local time), the White House announced in a statement, “We have tentatively agreed to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in grants and implement $11 billion in loan support under the Semiconductor Act. We expect this to create 30,000 jobs within the United States.”

This is the largest funding under the 2022 Semiconductor Support Act (CHIPS Act). So far, this is the fourth round of funding support based on this act for Intel, but the previous highest amount was $1.5 billion.

Intel has announced a $100 billion investment plan for the next five years, which includes the establishment of two state-of-the-art semiconductor production facilities (logic fabs) in Arizona, modernization of existing facilities, the establishment of two state-of-the-art logic fabs in Ohio, and conversion of two New Mexico facilities into state-of-the-art ones.

President Biden said at Intel’s Ocotillo campus in Chandler, Arizona, “With this investment in Intel’s facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon, the United States will be on track to produce 20% of the world’s most advanced chips within a decade.”

The support for Intel is interpreted as a strong emphasis on backing domestic manufacturing ahead of a potential presidential re-election battle with former President Donald Trump in November. Notably, the announcement was made in Arizona, one of the most fiercely contested states in the 2020 election, where President Biden won by a narrow margin of just 14,457 votes.