Intel Corp. has won $7.86 billion in funding from the U.S. Commerce Department to upgrade its U.S. chip production infrastructure.

The financing, which officials announced today, will be provided under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. Intel is one of several chipmakers set to receive funding under the law. Earlier this month, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. finalized an $11.6 billion federal financing agreement to support the construction of three fabs in Arizona.

The initial terms of Intel’s funding deal were defined in a preliminary memorandum that it signed earlier this year. The company was originally poised to receive up to $8.5 billion. According to the Commerce Department, the sum was reduced to $7.86 billion because of a congressional requirement related to a separate chip program.

The program in question, Secure Enclave, will see Intel manufacture processors for the U.S. government. In September, the company secured $3 billion worth of federal funding to support the initiative. It’s also set to receive a 25% tax credit on qualified chip manufacturing investments. 

Intel plans to spend more than $100 billion over several years on a set of plant construction and modernization projects. Under the newest project, which was detailed in March, the company will upgrade its Oregon fab complex at a cost of more than $36 billion. The facility recently became the first Intel site to be equipped with a High-NA EUV lithography machine.

The company is also building new fabs in Arizona and Ohio at a combined cost of more than $50 billion. In Ohio, Intel is constructing two plants on a 1,000-acre “megasite” that could eventually host as many as more factories plus supporting facilities.

Intel is expanding its capacity to make not only processors but also chip packaging. That’s the hardware used to link together multiple silicon dies into a single processor. According to Intel, the federal financing agreement it inked today will advance its investment plans in this area as well. 

Intel will spend a portion of the funding on its New Mexico manufacturing hub, which makes Foveros chip packaging. This technology makes it possible to place a processor’s silicon dies atop one another in a stacked configurations. Intel’s New Mexico hub comprises two fabs that were built at a cost of $3.5 billion and opened in January.

In parallel with the effort to scale its manufacturing capacity, Intel is enhancing the technology that powers its production lines. The company is currently working to deploy Intel A18, a new chip manufacturing process that uses gate-all-around transistors. Additionally, the process leverages a new type of electric wiring to deliver power to transistors. 

“The CHIPS for America program will supercharge American technology and innovation and make our country more secure – and Intel is expected to play an important role in the revitalization of the U.S. semiconductor industry,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The finalization of Intel’s financing agreement comes a few days after fellow semiconductor maker GlobalFoundries Inc. announced that it has secured $1.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding. The latter company, which makes chips with legacy manufacturing nodes, will use the funds to build a new fab and upgrade two existing manufacturing facilities.

Photo: Intel