Intel Bets Big on Advanced Packaging to Secure its Lead in the AI Era
Intel is reviving defunct factories and investing billions into 'advanced packaging' to compete with TSMC and capture the surging AI chip market.
Intel’s Comeback Strategy: The "Advanced Packaging" Gambit
In the high-stakes theater of global semiconductor manufacturing, Intel is betting its future on a specialized process once considered an afterthought: chip packaging. Sixteen miles north of Albuquerque, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, the company has resurrected a facility that once sat dormant for over a decade.
Fab 9, which was shuttered in 2007 and reportedly inhabited by local wildlife during its vacancy, was "booted up" again in January 2024. Backed by billions in corporate investment and $500 million in US CHIPS Act grants, the facility—alongside its neighbor Fab 11X—now serves as the vanguard for Intel’s Foundry division.
Decoding Advanced Packaging
For decades, the industry focused on "shrinking" transistors to increase power. However, as the physical limits of miniaturization are reached, the industry is shifting toward Advanced Packaging. This involves combining multiple "chiplets" onto a single, custom-designed chip using 3D stacking techniques.
Intel’s proprietary technologies, such as EMIB (Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge) and the newer Foveros process, allow for a "surgical" assembly of components. The company’s latest advancement, EMIB-T, scheduled for rollout this year, aims to drastically improve power efficiency and signal integrity—critical metrics for the energy-hungry Large Language Models (LLMs) powering the AI boom.
Chasing the $1 Billion Milestone
The shift is already reflecting on the balance sheet. During recent financial briefings, Intel executives highlighted a massive shift in revenue expectations:
Sixteen miles north of Albuquerque, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, the company has resurrected a facility that once sat dormant for over a decade.
- Revenue Growth: CFO Dave Zinsner recently revised packaging revenue projections from hundreds of millions to "well north of $1 billion."
- High Margins: The company anticipates its packaging business will eventually achieve 40% gross margins, rivaling its core product lines.
- Strategic Deals: Industry sources indicate Intel is in advanced talks with hyperscale giants Google and Amazon, both of which increasingly design custom silicon but require third-party fabrication and packaging.
Global Expansion and the TSMC Rivalry
While Intel remains the underdog compared to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC)—the world leader in wafer production and packaging technologies like CoWoS—Intel is expanding its footprint to close the gap.
Beyond New Mexico, Intel is aggressively scaling its operations in Southeast Asia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently confirmed that Intel, led by Foundry head Naga Chandrasekaran, is commencing a new expansion phase in Penang. This site will focus on assembly and testing, adding much-needed capacity to Intel’s global supply chain.
The AI Catalyst
"Because of AI, advanced packaging has really come to the forefront," Chandrasekaran told reporters. The complexity of AI chips requires a "system-in-package" approach that Intel believes will be its "very big differentiator" in a market currently dominated by Asian manufacturers.
Whether Intel can successfully transition from a legacy CPU designer to a world-class Foundry remains to be seen. However, in the dusty plains of Rio Rancho and the industrial hubs of Malaysia, the infrastructure for Intel’s AI-driven resurrection is officially online.
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Reporting contributed by Lauren Goode.