Intel revives a shuttered New Mexico chip plant for advanced packaging as the AI boom heats up
Rio Rancho, New Mexico: A former Intel chip plant is coming back to life. The facility in New Mexico, which stopped operations in 2007, is now running again. Intel put billions into the plant, including $500 million from the US government’s CHIPS Act. The company wants to grow its chip packaging business, which puts multiple small chip parts together into one custom chip.
Intel’s chip packaging is growing fast. During a company meeting, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said this packaging work makes Intel different from other companies. The company expects to make more money from packaging before seeing big sales from chip wafers. Intel hopes to earn well over $1 billion just from packaging chips.
Amazon and Google may become customers. Intel is talking with these big tech companies about using its packaging services. Both companies make their own custom chips but need help with some parts of making chips. Intel’s chip business was split into two parts in 2024. One part sells regular computer chips, while the new Foundry part makes advanced semiconductors.