Intel’s CEO Travels to Europe to Talk Foundries as Silicon Nationalism Rises

Next week, Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, will travel to Europe to meet with EU officials about the possibility of building new fab capacity within the bloc. These discussions with the EU will take place at a time when foundry capacity and overall semiconductor manufacturing capability are increasingly seen in geopolitical terms.

The EU’s recent draft proposal called for the various members to collectively account for 20 percent of leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing .. At present, the EU is home to about 10 percent of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing capability, but there are no leading-edge facilities currently within the zone.