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Intel wants to produce chips for cars amid semiconductor shortage

The chip giant could reportedly provide chips for automakers within six to nine months.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials

I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

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Corinne Reichert

April 12, 2021 4:41 p.m. PT

The global chip shortage is hitting the tech industry.

James Martin/CNET

Intel is in talks with automakers to produce semiconductor chips for cars, the company announced Monday. The tech giant would aim to produce chips within six to nine months, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters following a White House summit Monday with tech leaders concerning the global semiconductor shortage. Intel currently makes chips that power computers and phones.

The announcement follows Intel last month saying it would open its chip factories up to make chips for others, now saying this could be a potential source of manufacturing for the car industry. Intel said its announcement was met with a positive response, but did not name any potential automaker customers.

To address the shortage, Intel will also be investing $20 billion in two new chip plants in Arizona, Gelsinger said Monday.

Tomorrow I am honored to be meeting with the Biden administration to discuss the global chip shortage and how @intel is ready to provide chip manufacturing capacity in the US and EU.
— Pat Gelsinger (@PGelsinger) April 11, 2021

The White House met with CEOs from Intel, Dell, Samsung, Ford, HP, AT&T, Alphabet, General Motors and other companies. Thanks to the global shortage, Ford, General Motors, Toyota and other automakers have been unable to obtain certain chips, and as a result have cut production of vehicles.

President Joe Biden in February signed an executive order to improve the semiconductor chip supply chain, which included a 100-day review. "We need to make sure these supply chains are secure and reliable," Biden said at the time, adding that semiconductor chips power everything from cars to phones to medical devices.

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