Intel To Spend $600 Million To Boost Chip Production, R&D In Israel

Intel Corp. will spend $600 million to expand research and development centers in Israel, reports said Monday.

Intel said the new spending would be in addition to the $10 billion the company had already budgeted for a new microchip factory.

Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger said the company would spend $400 million to build a new research and development campus at its Mobileye unit in Jerusalem. It develops chips and other components for automated-driving vehicles.

The other $200 million will pay for a research and development facility in the northern port city of Haifa adjacent to its current development center. Describing it as a "mega chip design" facility, the soon-to-rise building will employ 6,000 workers.

Intel acquired Mobileye in 2017 for $15.3 billion and the company said the unit was a "major growth business" it expects to be important for its future, a Reuters report said.

Besides Mobileye, Intel acquired artificial intelligence chip manufacturer Habana Labs for $2 billion in 2019 and a navigation technology company called Moovit last year for $1 billion.

Israel's Finance Ministry in 2019 said Intel would receive a $1 billion grant to construct an $11 billion chip facility.

Intel operates three existing research and development centers in Israel. The U.S. multinational corporation is the biggest employer in Israel's high-tech industry with almost 14,000 workers, according to Silicon Angle.