back to article Intel: 'Another one to two years before the industry is able to completely catch up with demand'

Intel boss Pat Gelsinger reckons global semiconductor shortages that continue to disrupt tech industry supply chains could last until 2023, around the time Chipzilla will at last release its first 7nm process CPU, Meteor Lake. "We remain in a highly constrained environment where we are unable to fully support demand," the CEO …

  1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

    Close

    My friend had to close his business, because they cannot get microcontrollers anywhere.

    They tried to buy products that have those microcontrollers and then re-solder them, but that would make the product too expensive or they would be losing money anyway (and producing e-waste)

    They also tried to buy some from China, but received either fake parts or they got lost in transit.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Close

      And Intel's response is to build "cutting edge" 10nm that are a generation behind the cutting edge - but will do nothing to help the shortage of 130nm industrial parts

    2. Aitor 1

      Re: Close

      Wow, that is terrible.

      What microcontrollers, and in what quantities, if I may ask?

  2. Irongut

    How long until Intel catch up with the rest of the industry?

    3 years? 5 years? More?

  3. Sparkus

    Hopefully....

    This will reverse the 'trend' of placing fabs in third-world locations whose resources are limited to cheap labor.........

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Hopefully....

      If you think TSMC are building fabs in Taiwan because they need fab engineers to work for a $/day.

      Don't worry there will be $Bn of taxpayer dollars given to Intel to build fabs in the USA for server CPUs.

      The fabs will close as soon as the tax benefits run out.

      Then tarrifs on imports of the industrial electronics that Intel doesn't make - so your car and washing machine will cost more.

    2. codejunky Silver badge

      Re: Hopefully....

      @Sparkus

      "This will reverse the 'trend' of placing fabs in third-world locations whose resources are limited to cheap labor........."

      Why? We get cheaper parts and they have a job that pays more than others around or in dire places a actual job instead of starvation.

      1. codejunky Silver badge

        Re: Hopefully....

        I never thought people would downvote in favour of starving people.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Hopefully....

          You are being down-voted for your lack of knowledge/understand about semiconductor technology & its manufacture. Have another down-vote for not understanding that either.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Trollface

      Re: Hopefully....

      Which 3rd world locations have semiconductor fabs right now? (Apart from Wales.)

  4. PBealo

    Don't forget the $300M charge for a govt. contract in Q4 '21 the CFO mentioned! That's likely from the 3 year slip of Argonne Natl Labs' Aurora supercomputer. Contract was let in 2015 for 2018 delivery, then slipped to 2021, then CPUs slipped to 2022...

    In the meantime AMD's share of supercomputers changed from 9 of the top 500 to 25 of the top 500 in just one year.

    How does a company that can't deliver one computer to the govt qualify for ANY govt money to build fabs??

  5. iron Silver badge

    Two years before industry will catch up to demand or two years until Intel can catch up with the current tech from the rest of the industry?

    By then TSMC will have moved on.

    1. DS999 Silver badge

      TSMC will be on 3nm in H2 2022

      Intel's 7nm (if it isn't scaled back like their 10nm was when it proved too hard to get right) is supposed to be slightly better than TSMC's current 5nm, so Intel still be a ways behind.

      Given Intel's recent track record, I wouldn't put money on seeing any significant volume of 7nm parts in 2023. They might release a trickle of parts so they can claim they made their previous commitment of 2023, like how they shipped 100K 10nm CPUs in spring 2018 - but didn't start shipping 10nm in anything like volume until 2020 and only in the last few months have finally started making more revenue off 10nm than 14nm!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: TSMC will be on 3nm in H2 2022

        TSCM HQ and a majority of its plants is physically a lot closer to China than the US.

        The US and others must hedge their bets.

        The doesn't mean that Intel is the only way to hedge, but it is positioned to be a part of that.

        Invasion of Taiwan is not the only scenario - and embargo of supplies to Taiwan could crimp TSMC. Their are all kinds of intermediate measures China could take to interrupt the flow of chips from TSMC to the west.

        Market forces cannot "plan" at the level.

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