Intel breaks ground on new Valley fabs as White House seeks supply chain transparency

Intel officially kicked off construction on its two new semiconductor chip factories in Chandler on Friday, in a project that is expected to cost $20 billion and employ 3,000 people.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger was on hand for the ceremony and he told the Business Journal that the company is cooperating with the Biden administration’s recent effort to get supply chain data from semiconductor companies.

Just yesterday, the White House raised the possibility of invoking the Defense Production Act to force compliance.

“We’re going to comply to the greatest extent we can with that request, but there may be confidential information with our customers and suppliers as well,” Gelsinger said on Friday.

Gelsinger was part of a call with the White House on Thursday, he said, focused on transparency in the semiconductor supply chain, which has become a key issue as the world experiences a shortage of these crucial parts.

The administration may utilize the Defense Production Act, a piece of 1950 wartime legislation, to force chipmakers to share this supply chain information, as originally reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday.