Jamie Bennet
Intel has inaugurated a $20 billion project to establish a semiconductor manufacturing site, which the company dubbed Silicon Heartland, in Ohio.
Officials broke ground on the first of two state-of-the-art chipmaking facilities that Intel plans to build in Licking County through 2025, the company said Friday. U.S. President Joe Biden, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and other representatives at the federal, state and local levels were in attendance.
The chipmaker expects the project to create 7,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 jobs in manufacturing and engineering upon operation. The two factories will also support the new Intel Foundry Services business unit.
“The establishment of the Silicon Heartland is testament to the power of government incentives to unlock private investment, create thousands of high-paying jobs, and benefit U.S. economic and national security. We would not be here today without the support of leaders in the administration, Congress and the state of Ohio, who share a vision to help restore the United States to its rightful place as a leader in advanced chipmaking,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said.
Intel’s investment in the state also includes a $50 million pledge through its Semiconductor Education and Research Program for Ohio. Under the first phase of the program, Intel will grant $17.7 million to eight proposals focused on addressing semiconductor education, technical challenges and workforce shortages.
Among the higher education institutions chosen are:
- Central State University
- Columbus State Community College
- Kent State University
- Lorain County Community College
- Ohio State University
- Ohio University
- University of Cincinnati
More than 2,300 scholarships and nearly 9,000 graduates over three years are expected from the first iteration of the initiative.
