Intel to invest $20B in Arizona chip manufacturing campus

Company will build two new facilities outside Phoenix

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and an aerial of the Arizona campus in Chandler, Arizona (Getty, Bussinesswire/Berkshire Hathaway)
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and an aerial of the Arizona campus in Chandler, Arizona (Getty, Bussinesswire/Berkshire Hathaway)

Computer chip giant Intel is making a big real estate investment in the area outside of Phoenix.

The company plans to expand its campus in Chandler, Arizona, by building two computer chip manufacturing facilities, AZ Central reported. The $20 billion move is being called the largest private sector investment in the state’s history.

Intel currently operates four chip factories at its 700-acre Ocotillo campus, and employs 12,000 people there.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the state of Arizona and the Biden administration provided “incentives” for the project. Those include federal grants created by the CHIPS for America Act, a recently-passed bill meant to support the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research. U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona cosponsored the bill.

Gelsinger said the two factories are set to employ 3,000 people and that the expansion would create 15,000 “local long-term jobs” at other companies across the state. Planning and construction will begin immediately and that the company looks to start production by 2024, according to the report.

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Intel’s announcement comes a few months after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation announced that it would develop its own $12 billion chip manufacturing campus in north Phoenix. Keyvan Esfarjani, a senior vice president at Intel, said the decision was not influenced by TSMC’s announcement.

Both facilities could accelerate economic growth in Phoenix. Developers have been investing heavily in the city, hoping to capitalize on a growing population and job market, and home prices have surged.

Intel also announced Tuesday it would expand its chip-making facilities in Europe.

[AZ Central] — Dennis Lynch