Intel Corp. is joining SpaceX and Tesla’s project to build a Terafab in the U.S. in what could be a boon for its foundry ambitions.
The news comes after Intel may be on the heels of big wins from Google and Amazon for its advanced packaging services for custom AI accelerators.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the semiconductor manufacturing effort is designed to produce chips for Tesla vehicles and robots, SpaceX aerospace endeavors and data centers for xAI. Intel will help the companies with refactor silicon technology.
Intel posted on X “Our ability to design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale will help accelerate Terafab’s aim to produce 1 TW/year of compute.”
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk shake hands on the announcement about Intel joining the Terafab project. Source: Intel The Terafab project aims to produce 1 terawatt per year of compute power for AI and robots. Intel will assist in designing silicon, manufacturing the chips and providing its Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) and Foveros advanced packaging technologies and soon to be released EMIB-T variant for even lower process nodes.
While details are not completely known, some of Intel’s facilities may become part of the network needed for the Terafab project.
Terafab
The project is designed to build two advanced semiconductor factories in Austin, Texas. The cost of the project is estimated to be between $20 billion and $25 billion. The facilities will include logic, memory and advanced packaging in one house.
Intel has been trying to expand its own foundry business, investing in new fabs in Ohio and Arizona. The goal is to boost U.S. domestic semiconductor manufacturing to help ease supply chain disruptions if geopolitics or pandemics happen again.
The deal is the second positive step for Intel this week, which is good for the company that has been struggling financially and reportedly has been rethinking its foundry strategy. This could be the start of a greater role that Intel plays in the Terafab as rumors are swirling that Tesla will likely not be able to build it without help.
