Washington lawmakers are growing increasingly worried about Intel’s future, even weighing additional bailout options.
Once the undisputed king of the semiconductor industry, Intel’s fortunes have faced a significant reversal. The company has lost its crown as the largest chipmaker to TSMC, and has lost its technical edge to any number of rivals.
Despite a high-profile turnaround attempt by CEO Pat Gelsinger, the company’s fortunes have continued to decline. Intel has faced multiple problems, including production issues, software errors, critical failures, and lagging performance.
While the company has already received billions from the CHIPS Act, Semafor is reporting that lawmakers are privately discussing the possibility of additional bailouts, should Intel need more help. Nothing concrete has been discussed, and the outlet reports the talks are largely precautionary.
Nonetheless, the fact the discussions are happening is an indication of just how important lawmakers view Intel’s success. As semiconductors have become more important for everything from computers and mobile devices to autonomous vehicles and AI, semiconductors have increasingly become national security concerns. Given that Intel is the only US chipmaker, it’s not surprising that lawmakers are considering contingency plans.
One possible solution could be a merger with another US chip firm, with lawmakers likely to be less concerned with regulatory issues if it means saving Intel.
For its part, Intel emphasized its importance in a statement to Semafor.
“We have outlined a clear strategy that we are executing with rigor, and the strong operational performance we delivered in Q3 demonstrates important progress against our plan,” an Intel spokesperson said in a statement. “Intel is the only American company that designs and manufactures leading-edge chips and is playing a critical role to enable a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem in the US.”
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