Intel invests 9.5 billion euros in Israeli chip factory
Intel wants to allocate 9.5 billion euros for the expansion of its factory in the Israeli industrial city of Kiryat Gat. The chip manufacturer does ask the Israeli government to grant a subsidy of ten percent of the investment costs.
If the government approves the business plan submitted by Intel, it will be the chip maker’s largest investment in Israel to date, Globes reports. The government contribution of about one billion euros, if approved, would also be a record amount in Israel. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said the investment would “create thousands of new jobs in the southern region.”
Last year, Intel also allocated 4.37 billion euros for an upgrade of the factory in Kiryat Gat. Across Israel, the company employs 11,700 people plus an additional 1,170 employees at Mobileye. This Israeli technology company was acquired by the chip giant in 2017 for an amount of more than thirteen billion euros.
Details about the planned factory have not been disclosed. According to Globes, it is a factory that will focus on Intel’s 10nm production of chips. Intel is currently preparing that process for production to start, after considerable delay, at the end of this year. Given the duration of the construction of the factory and the statement by the Minister of Economy that it is “Intel’s most advanced factory”, it seems that the factory will also be used for the successors of the 10nm node.
One of the Intel factories in Israel