Intel is serious about reclaiming its place as the world’s largest chipmaker and foundry operator. The chipmaker today unveiled a $20 billion project to build two leading-edge fabs outside Columbus, Ohio.

“The new factories we build in Ohio are part of our strategy to increase semiconductor R&D and global manufacturing, restoring U.S. semiconductor and manufacturing leadership,” CEO Pat Gelsinger said during a press conference today.

The announcement marks Intel’s first new manufacturing site in more than 40 years. The two Ohio-bound fabs are, however, only the beginning. Intel expects to invest closer to $100 billion at the 1,000-acre site over the next decade, including the construction of up to six additional fabs.

The chipmaker touted the project as the single largest private-sector investment in Ohio history. It’s expected to create 7,000 construction jobs when the company breaks ground later this year, and another 3,000 high-tech jobs when the fabs open in late 2025.

“We expect that Intel Ohio will become one of, if not the largest semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world over the next decade,” Gelsinger said. “Ohio now becomes the heart of the digital age and the digital future ... today, the silicon heartland begins.”

The expansion is part of Gelsinger’s Integrated Design Manufacturing (IDM) 2.0 initiative announced in March 2021 shortly after his return to Intel.

The facilities will not only support Intel’s own product stack and process technologies but are essential to meet demand for contract manufacturing under the chipmaker’s newly formed Intel Foundry Services business unit.

Intel is “throwing the doors open on our factory to become a foundry for everybody’s semiconductor products as well,” Gelsinger said.

Gelsinger has moved aggressively to reshape Intel to his vision and hasn’t been shy about dropping tens of billions on infrastructure.

“What we have collectively learned through the pandemic is that we can't take the access to technology and manufacturing for granted,” Gelsinger said. “We've seen the disruptions to our global supply chain. The demand for semiconductors is truly unprecedented today. And many industries, many factories, auto manufacturers are stopped because of a $2 chip.”

To date, Intel has spent $20 billion to construct two Arizona chip fabs, $3.5 billion to refit its Rio Rancho, New Mexico plant, and $7 billion on a packaging facility in Malaysia, all in a bid to capitalize on surging semiconductor demand. The $20 billion Ohio “mega-fab” announced today is simply the latest.

The chipmaker plans to add two additional Europe-based fabs later this year, pending European Union support for the measure.

Despite Gelsinger’s willingness to open Intel’s substantial coffers to fund the expansion, he remains hopeful the United States’ government will pitch in.

“We're making this bet today assuming the CHIPs Act gets done,” Gelsinger said. “We’re building the site, we’re getting started, but we need Congress to quickly and affirmatively act to finish the CHIPs Act and get it funded, because I want the project to be bigger and faster as a result.”

Introduced early this summer, the $52 billion CHIPs for America Act aims to bolster U.S. semiconductor supply chains and reduce reliance on Asia-Pacific foundry operators like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics.

Unfortunately for Gelsinger, the bipartisan bill hasn’t made much progress since it was first introduced.

In addition to the headline-grabbing $20 billion construction project, Intel also announced a $100 million investment in education. The funding is designed to create a “pipeline” for workers and bolster research, the chipmaker claims.

“We intend to partner with Ohio universities, community colleges, the National Science Foundation, a broadening of research and collaboration projects, and building semiconductor-specific curriculum and manufacturing agendas for everything from associate degrees up to the highest-end PhD degrees,” he said.

Analysts have frequently cited talent as a potential challenge facing U.S.-based semiconductor expansions. Intel appears to be aware of this as it's paired educational investments alongside its foundry expansions to ensure a steady supply of workers. The most recent example of this is the retrofit of its Rio Rancho facility.