Intel Installs First Truss at Ohio Fab, Pushing Delayed Plant Toward 2030 Finish
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Oct 21
Intel Installs First Truss at Ohio Fab, Pushing Delayed Plant Toward 2030 Finish
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Oct 21
Summary
Intel said crews installed the first major structural truss at its New Albany, Ohio, chip fab, opening the next construction phase at a project now running at least five years late.
2030 is Intel's current target to finish the first Ohio fab, versus the 2025 production goal set when the site was announced in 2022; a second fab is planned for 2031.
The slower build reflects CEO Lip-Bu Tan's more cautious foundry strategy, which ties expansion more closely to customer demand after Intel's manufacturing setbacks and a bruising 2024.
Demand for advanced chips has surged in the meantime, and Intel is trying to position Ohio as a U.S. alternative to TSMC, whose capacity remains tight for customers such as Nvidia, AMD, Apple and Broadcom.
Intel still needs outside customers to justify the investment: reports in September linked SK Hynix to possible foundry space in Ohio, while Intel's Arizona 18A lines are so far mainly making its own chips.
With Intel's Ohio chip plant delayed to 2030, can the company secure external customers before its multi-billion dollar investment becomes a stranded asset?
As TSMC struggles with AI chip demand, will major tech companies finally trust Intel's delayed Ohio foundry as a viable second-source manufacturer?