Italy will set up a 4 billion euro chip manufacturing fund

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger went to Europe last year to conduct a series of inspections and visits to find a suitable location for the new large-scale fab but has not announced a specific location so far. Earlier reports indicated that Intel has chosen to build its new fab in Magdeburg, Germany, which will create more than 1,000 new jobs. While Germany is a popular location for Intel’s new European fabs, there are other regions that want Intel investment.

A 2 nm wafer fabricated at IBM Research’s Albany facility. The wafer contains hundreds of individual chips. Courtesy of IBM

According to Reuters, a recent draft of a new Italian decree shows that it plans to set up a chip manufacturing fund of 4 billion euros to attract foreign semiconductor companies to set up factories in its territory to promote the development of semiconductor manufacturing. Instead of spending 4 billion euros in one go, Italy will start in 2022 with 150 million euros, and 500 million euros per year from 2023 until 2030. Industry insiders believe that the focus of Italy’s move is to attract investment from companies such as Intel.

It is understood that the contacts with the Italian government include Tower Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, and MEMC. Negotiations with Intel are rumored to be very difficult because Intel has made so many demands. Last month, the European Commission announced new financing rules for innovative semiconductor facilities under the Chips Act.