Former Intel CEO warns US chip comeback still has long way to go
Intel unveiled new chip manufacturing milestones this week, but former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the United States still has a long way to go to reclaim chip production from Asia.
"The metric [is] though, how many wafers are being built in America," Gelsinger said Friday on "The Claman Countdown."
"That is the only thing that matters," he added.
Gelsinger’s warning comes as the Trump administration has moved to strengthen U.S. chip manufacturing, taking a stake in Intel and pushing to bring advanced semiconductor production back on U.S. soil.
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Much of the world’s advanced chip manufacturing remains concentrated in Asia, particularly Taiwan. U.S. officials have said the imbalance poses economic and national security concerns.
Gelsinger said it is critical that manufacturing return to the United States, while cautioning that progress will take time.
"It’s hard to win that manufacturing back. You know it took decades for it to sediment into Asia. It doesn't come back quickly," he said.
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President Donald Trump met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan at the White House this week, later praising the company on social media and calling the meeting "great."
The president also said the U.S. government is "proud to be a shareholder of Intel." In August, the U.S. government took a nearly 10% stake in the chipmaker as part of a broader national security push. Advanced computer chips are vital to the military, everyday electronics and other sectors to stay competitive in the AI race.
On Thursday, Tan responded to Trump’s praise, writing on X, "Honored and delighted to have the full support and encouragement of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @CommerceGov Secretary @howardlutnick as we bring leading edge chip manufacturing back to America!"
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Gelsinger said major chip designers such as Nvidia and AMD still need to commit to manufacturing chips on American soil, calling those commitments part of Intel’s long-term strategy.
"All of those need to come back into the foundry of the U.S. and the foundry of Intel," Gelsinger added.
"I'm certainly encouraged to see these milestones, but we have a lot more to do."