In a recent interview, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger presented how Intel intends to remain a relevant actor in the Chinese chip market while also scaling up production in the US. This was done at the occasion of the Computex tech conference in Taipei, where Intel released its new Xeon 6 processor, destined for data centres. Its release comes at a time when tech giants are challenging Nvidia's chip dominance. 

Gelsinger aims to build an Intel foundry in the US after the organisation was incentivised to increase facilities in the US with as much as$8.5 billion in grants and$11 billion in loans under the CHIPS and Science Act. In its release, the White House stated this is a step towards 'protecting national security' and increasing US share of global chip production to '20% [...] by the end of the decade'.

"The capital is critical. We said that we have to have economic competitiveness if we build these factories in the US, and that's what the CHIPS Act has done. It's created a level playing field if I were building a factory in Asia versus US," Gelsinger said.

Why does it matter?

At the same time, Gelsinger reiterated the importance of the Chinese market to his company. "China is a big market for Intel today, and one that we're investing in to be a big market for Intel tomorrow as well," he said. Intel has been competing to catch up its global market share since 2017, when South Korea's Samsung overtook it as the largest chipmaker in terms of revenue. Since then, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reportedly overtook Samsung in 2023.