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Intel is the only hope for relatively short-term microprocessor fabrication on the continent. TSMC is trying to do fabs here but that's going to take ages to s

Intel is the only hope for relatively short-term microprocessor fabrication on the continent. TSMC is trying to do fabs here but that's going to take ages to scale. The real question is, how do you subsidize this sort of development from scratch while not hamstringing or ignoring already developed abilities. For promoting advanced chip fab inside of the US, intel is america's best bet. The only other option would have been AMD, but they closed their on-shore fabs like two decades ago afaicr.

thuanao 2y ago
Nationalize the company and return all profits to the taxpayers. For national security. But that would be crazy! Too socialist. We can’t have that kind of authoritarianism. Only the kind that subsidizes shareholders and CEOs.
- j16sdiz 2y ago
  Intel is not making profit.
  - thuanao 2y ago
    Right, only for the most recent year. They've had declining profits for the last few years. The CHIPS act gives handouts to companies like Intel ostensibly to contribute to national defense by creating domestic production of chips used in military equipment. However this will also aid Intel in its commercial enterprises not just contracts with the military. And to the extent it does, those profits won't be realized by the taxpayers that funded them. Taxpayers should receive equity for funding privately held companies. Alternatively, if we don't want to encroach on the sacred profits of our dear corporations, the government could require that chip manufacturing has to occur in the US without capitalizing them. That way chip manufacturing remains in the US and the market can bear the risk and reward of chip ventures.
pclmulqdq 2y ago
For strategic reasons, TSMC is also not doing their latest and greatest technology nodes in the US. They don't want the US marching into the fab and handing the secrets to Intel in case of a "national security emergency." The AMD option is already called "global foundries" for good reason. IBM is also out of the chip fabrication business, having sold their assets to GloFo.
BeefWellington 2y ago
They didn't, they simply sold off their fabs to a bunch of hedge funds and it became GlobalFoundries. It's still around, produces chips in the US, and was given a big defense contract just last year: https://gf.com/gf-press-release/u-s-government-awards-globalfoundries-new-3-1-billion-10-year-contract-for-secure-chip-manufacturing/ https://gf.com/gf-press-release/u-s-government-awards-global...

thuanao 2y ago

Nationalize the company and return all profits to the taxpayers. For national security. But that would be crazy! Too socialist. We can’t have that kind of authoritarianism. Only the kind that subsidizes shareholders and CEOs.

j16sdiz 2y ago
Intel is not making profit.
- thuanao 2y ago
  Right, only for the most recent year. They've had declining profits for the last few years. The CHIPS act gives handouts to companies like Intel ostensibly to contribute to national defense by creating domestic production of chips used in military equipment. However this will also aid Intel in its commercial enterprises not just contracts with the military. And to the extent it does, those profits won't be realized by the taxpayers that funded them. Taxpayers should receive equity for funding privately held companies. Alternatively, if we don't want to encroach on the sacred profits of our dear corporations, the government could require that chip manufacturing has to occur in the US without capitalizing them. That way chip manufacturing remains in the US and the market can bear the risk and reward of chip ventures.

pclmulqdq 2y ago

For strategic reasons, TSMC is also not doing their latest and greatest technology nodes in the US. They don't want the US marching into the fab and handing the secrets to Intel in case of a "national security emergency." The AMD option is already called "global foundries" for good reason. IBM is also out of the chip fabrication business, having sold their assets to GloFo.

BeefWellington 2y ago

They didn't, they simply sold off their fabs to a bunch of hedge funds and it became GlobalFoundries. It's still around, produces chips in the US, and was given a big defense contract just last year: https://gf.com/gf-press-release/u-s-government-awards-globalfoundries-new-3-1-billion-10-year-contract-for-secure-chip-manufacturing/ https://gf.com/gf-press-release/u-s-government-awards-global...