Treasury cancels Intel grant
The Israeli Ministry of Finance has cancelled a NIS 1.3 billion grant previously promised to Intel for the expansion of its Kiryat Gat chip foundry. The decision follows Intel's suspension of construction due to cash flow issues and regional instability.
Why it matters
The cancellation reflects the impact of global economic pressures and regional conflict on major semiconductor manufacturing investments.
Intel Corporation constantly boasts about its chip foundry in Kiryat Gat, the only one in the world that produces chips using 10 nanometer technology, known as "Intel 7" technology, and says that the Israeli factory leads global AI processes of the company’s production sites around the world. The person responsible for the construction of the factory and for the replication of several of its processes to Intel’s global production network, Daniel Benatar, holds a senior position as general manager of Intel Worldwide Technology Front End Semiconductor Manufacturing.
For two years, however, construction of the extension to the Kiryat Gat factory, with the two clean rooms that it was supposed to contain, has been suspended, because of Intel’s cash flow difficulties, which also led to the cancellation of construction of factories in Germany and Poland, and because of the recurring wars in the Middle East.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in