Intel will upgrade New Mexico site to produce stacked chips

Chipmaker Intel will be upgrading its current location in the US city of Rio Rancho in New Mexico in the coming years to make stacked chips with its Foveros technology. Intel is investing USD 3.5 billion in the factory for this.

More than 2,500 people will be working at the site, the company reports . There are now around 1800. The existing location remains in use and Intel is not building more; it is only an upgrade of the current space. Intel previously announced the investment , but did not provide details at the time.

Intel now uses the stacked Foveros chips to a limited extent , for example in processors of the Lakefield generation. That must increase in the coming years. The renovation will start at the end of 2021 and should be completed by the end of 2022. Stacking chips makes it possible to combine dies made by different processes on a small surface, in order to reduce power consumption.

The investment is part of a broader strategy of Intel to increase production capacity in the coming years and also produce chips for other companies. There will also be two new fabs in Arizona, for which the company set aside $ 20 billion in March and for which processors with EUV machines will be made.