Intel reportedly plans to build a new chip factory near Columbus, Ohio.
Neither Intel nor state officials have confirmed the plan, but according to The Plain Dealer, which cites unamed sources, the chip maker is close to finalizing the announcement.
The newspaper also says Ohio beat out New York during Intel’s search to determine where to build the new factory, which will be located about 20 miles east of Columbus.
The scale and focus of the factory remains unknown. But it arrives as the US is facing the worst chip shortage in history, which has constrained shipments of laptops, smartphones, graphics cards, and even new cars.
Intel is also facing intense competition from AMD and Apple on cutting-edge PC processors. At the same time, the company is expanding into the foundry business, which will involve producing custom chips for tech companies and Western governments. This will put Intel in direct competition with other semiconductor manufacturers, such as TSMC and Samsung.
As a result, Intel has been investing in chip manufacturing capacity. In August, CEO Pat Gelsinger told The Washington Post he wanted to build a "major mega-fab location" in the US.
"This would be a very large site, so six to eight fab modules, and at each of those fab modules, between ten and $15 billion,” Gelsinger said. “It's a project over the next decade on the order of $100 billion of capital, 10,000 direct jobs.”
It’s unclear if the Ohio site is Intel’s future destination for the mega fab, which was originally supposed to be announced last year. Intel declined to comment.