FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Intel logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo plan next week in Arizona to unveil a multi-billion-dollar award for Intel to expand its chip production in the United States, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Intel, which has chip production facilities in Chandler, Arizona, has invited customers and suppliers to attend the event as well, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
Intel declined to comment.
The U.S. is trying to increase domestic semiconductor production through the U.S. CHIPS Act, which was passed in 2022 and provides $52.7 billion in funding, including $39 billion in subsidies for semiconductor production and $11 billion for R&D.
The goal is to reduce reliance on Asia, as the share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the U.S. has fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Arizona is a critical political swing state that Biden, who is running for re-election against Republican Donald Trump, hopes to win in November.
It is also cementing its position as a domestic chipmaking powerhouse, with Taiwan's TSMC announcing a new Phoenix-based facility in 2020 and Intel unveiling plans to add two factories to its Chandler campus there last year.
Intel has also announced plans to build a $20 billion chipmaking complex in Albany, Ohio, in 2022 but the Wall Street Journal reported last month that construction is not expected to be finished until late 2026.
Intel said previously it was seeking grants for both its Ohio and Arizona projects.
(Reporting by Alexander Alper, David Shepardson and Jeff Mason; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita Choy)
