(Credit: Intel Corporation)
After a summer of mass layoffs and crashing chips, Intel is moving forward with a multiyear, multibillion-dollar chip deal with Amazon's cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services. As part of the deal announced Monday, Intel will design and produce at least two different AI-capable chips for AWS.
One of the Intel AI chips will use its 18A process node, while the other will be a chip based on Intel's Xeon 6, built on Intel 3. The companies have already been working together for years, and plan to deepen their ties through the chip deal.
Amazon and Intel are also continuing to pour money into their operations in Ohio, with Amazon making plans for a multibillion-dollar data center and Intel building two chip factories in the state's New Albany region. Intel alone hopes its Ohio plans will create over 3,000 jobs in the area.
"This collaboration between Intel and AWS is a great development for US-based manufacturing and solidifying Ohio as a leader in AI," said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in a statement. "Today’s announcement furthers Intel’s commitment to US manufacturing sites, like Ohio’s, as well as AWS’s commitment to its nearly decade-long investment in our state."
Like much of big tech, Amazon has bet big on the promise of generative AI. It's invested in Anthropic, which makes the Claude chatbots, and has added generative AI features across Amazon's shopping site through AI-generated descriptions and its "Rufus" chatbot. AWS is also offering AI-as-a-service through its cloud computing division, including a coding assistant dubbed "Q" and an AI app generator.
Intel, in turn, could stand to gain financially from the AI boom as one of the US's largest chip manufacturers. But Intel has faced some challenges this year, specifically with its 13th and 14th-generation core desktop chips. The crashing chips have sparked legal investigations, and could lead to multiple class-action lawsuits, though Intel has said its laptop chips aren't impacted by the bug. Over the summer, Intel also confirmed it was making dramatic cuts to its workforce, laying off 15,000 employees, reportedly to improve its financial situation.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced $8.5 billion for Intel to build more chip factories in the US through the 2022 Chips Act. This week, Intel received another $3 billion in direct funding under the Chips Act for the US "Secure Enclave" program, which is intended to help design advanced chips for government purposes.