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The company will work alongside automakers to integrate more advanced technology in car electronic systems.
Intel will set aside production capacity at its Irish base for automotive chipmaking, CEO Pat Gelsinger has said.
Gelsinger was speaking yesterday (7 September) at the International Mobility Show Germany (IAA) in Munich, one of the largest automotive shows in the world. He also said the company plans to invest €80bn in total in Europe over the next decade.
Alongside the dedicated production capacity at Intel’s expanding Leixlip site in Co Kildare, Gelsinger said the company is establishing new chip manufacturing facilities in Europe and the Intel Foundry Services Accelerator.
This project aims to work with carmakers to use newer, more advanced chip technology. To do this, Intel will create a new automotive-specific design team and make both custom and standard advanced chip designs available to carmakers.
Addressing the motor industry show, Gelsinger said: “Cars are becoming computers with tires. You need us and we need you. The aim is to create a centre of innovation in Europe, for Europe.”
The Intel CEO also said that his company predicts chips could make up 20pc of the cost of vehicles by the end of the decade, a fivefold increase from 2019.
Citing Gartner research, the company said the market for these chips will grow to $115bn worldwide by 2030, or 11pc of the entire silicon market.
Gelsinger has spoken extensively over the past months about the global chip shortage and Intel’s plans to address it. The company has been discussing where to set up new manufacturing centres in Europe and seeking EU aid for the project.
At the IAA show, the CEO said the company would announce the locations for two new European sites by the end of 2021.
Intel views automakers as a particularly important market for the future. It is an industry that has been hit especially hard by the effects of the semiconductor shortage.
