Former Intel (INTC) CEO Pat Gelsinger spent a good chunk of 2023 and 2024 not only trying to transform the semiconductor icon but also seeking to get his fair share of the CHIPS and Science Act funding from the Biden administration.
Gelsinger — who has spent more than 45 years in the tech industry, mostly in semiconductor development at Intel — talked up the need for the law's funding for domestic chip manufacturing in TV interviews (including with this journalist). He also had photo ops with former President Joe Biden at Intel chip plant construction sites and seemed as excited about what the funding meant to Intel's future and the industry as discussing the outlook of artificial intelligence.
In effect, Gelsinger was the face of the CHIPS Act.
Though Gelsinger, who parted ways with Intel in December, is no longer CEO, and President Trump has criticized the CHIPS Act, Gelsinger still views the funding the same way.
"You'll raise the national consciousness of chips," Gelsinger told Yahoo Finance on a video call late Monday in one of his first interviews since leaving Intel.
President Joe Biden, with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, left, speak about rebuilding US manufacturing through the CHIPS and Science Act near New Albany, Ohio, on Sept. 9, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Gelsinger announced Monday he will become executive chair and head of technology at Gloo, where he has been an investor and chair for over 10 years. Gloo is a technology platform that supports 450,000 churches, faith networks, service providers, and nonprofits, and it aligns with the values of the deeply religious Gelsinger.
Gelsinger added on the CHIPS Act: "Supply chains move because they're advantaged. So in that sense, I see chips [making], plus some of the economic inducements, as being a formula that I fully agree with looking forward. But we can't go backward on what we put in place for the CHIPS Act. We need to continue to restore manufacturing. We need long-term research and development."
The Biden administration's CHIPS Act was signed into law in 2022, introducing major government subsidies to support domestic chip manufacturing. The law was meant to shore up critical chip supply chains and reduce reliance on industry heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).
The law included $39 billion in subsidies for US chipmaking along with $13.2 billion for semiconductor R&D. Intel received a $7.86 billion grant from the CHIPS Act.
The funds were supposed to support new advanced packaging projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon. However, Intel said in February that its promised $28 billion chip fabrication plants in Ohio would be delayed in opening until 2030 and 2031. This marks a more than five-year delay in the opening timeline as Intel struggles to stabilize its business.
"The CHIPS Act was designed to, I'll say, close the gaps that had emerged with Asia," Gelsinger said.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger shows President Joe Biden a processor and semiconductor wafer during a tour at Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Ariz., on March 20, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the need to diversify the US chip supply chain, the CHIPS Act has become a punching bag for President Trump as of late.
During his joint address to Congress earlier this month, Trump said the CHIPS Act was a "horrible, horrible thing." He told House Speaker Mike Johnson to "get rid" of the legislation and earmark the remaining cash to reduce debt or "any other reason you want to."
Interestingly, Trump touted Taiwan Semiconductor's plans to spend $165 billion to build new chip facilities in Arizona. But $6.6 billion of the funding for the project will come in the form of grants via the CHIPS Act, as Yahoo Finance tech editor Dan Howley pointed out.
Trump has since called the CHIPS Act a "disaster."
"I think it has been a massive distraction," Bank of America semiconductor analyst Vivek Arya said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast (see video above or listen below). "The semiconductor industry did not really need it. I think ... there could have been other ways."
Arya acknowledged, however, that the CHIPS Act has created good-paying manufacturing jobs in the country.
The face of the CHIPS Act probably agrees.
Gelsinger — who has spent more than 45 years in the tech industry, mostly in semiconductor development at Intel — talked up the need for the law's funding for domestic chip manufacturing in TV interviews (including with this journalist). He also had photo ops with former President Joe Biden at Intel chip plant construction sites and seemed as excited about what the funding meant to Intel's future and the industry as discussing the outlook of artificial intelligence.
In effect, Gelsinger was the face of the CHIPS Act.
Though Gelsinger, who parted ways with Intel in December, is no longer CEO, and President Trump has criticized the CHIPS Act, Gelsinger still views the funding the same way.
"You'll raise the national consciousness of chips," Gelsinger told Yahoo Finance on a video call late Monday in one of his first interviews since leaving Intel.
President Joe Biden, with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, left, speak about rebuilding US manufacturing through the CHIPS and Science Act near New Albany, Ohio, on Sept. 9, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Gelsinger announced Monday he will become executive chair and head of technology at Gloo, where he has been an investor and chair for over 10 years. Gloo is a technology platform that supports 450,000 churches, faith networks, service providers, and nonprofits, and it aligns with the values of the deeply religious Gelsinger.
Gelsinger added on the CHIPS Act: "Supply chains move because they're advantaged. So in that sense, I see chips [making], plus some of the economic inducements, as being a formula that I fully agree with looking forward. But we can't go backward on what we put in place for the CHIPS Act. We need to continue to restore manufacturing. We need long-term research and development."
The Biden administration's CHIPS Act was signed into law in 2022, introducing major government subsidies to support domestic chip manufacturing. The law was meant to shore up critical chip supply chains and reduce reliance on industry heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).
The law included $39 billion in subsidies for US chipmaking along with $13.2 billion for semiconductor R&D. Intel received a $7.86 billion grant from the CHIPS Act.
The funds were supposed to support new advanced packaging projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon. However, Intel said in February that its promised $28 billion chip fabrication plants in Ohio would be delayed in opening until 2030 and 2031. This marks a more than five-year delay in the opening timeline as Intel struggles to stabilize its business.
"The CHIPS Act was designed to, I'll say, close the gaps that had emerged with Asia," Gelsinger said.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger shows President Joe Biden a processor and semiconductor wafer during a tour at Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Ariz., on March 20, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the need to diversify the US chip supply chain, the CHIPS Act has become a punching bag for President Trump as of late.
During his joint address to Congress earlier this month, Trump said the CHIPS Act was a "horrible, horrible thing." He told House Speaker Mike Johnson to "get rid" of the legislation and earmark the remaining cash to reduce debt or "any other reason you want to."
Interestingly, Trump touted Taiwan Semiconductor's plans to spend $165 billion to build new chip facilities in Arizona. But $6.6 billion of the funding for the project will come in the form of grants via the CHIPS Act, as Yahoo Finance tech editor Dan Howley pointed out.
Trump has since called the CHIPS Act a "disaster."
"I think it has been a massive distraction," Bank of America semiconductor analyst Vivek Arya said on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast (see video above or listen below). "The semiconductor industry did not really need it. I think ... there could have been other ways."
Arya acknowledged, however, that the CHIPS Act has created good-paying manufacturing jobs in the country.
The face of the CHIPS Act probably agrees.