Intel has struck a partnership with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners to fund the development of a $30bn semiconductor fabrication plant in Arizona, as the chipmaker works to finance construction on large domestic manufacturing facilities following the approval of landmark semiconductor legislation in the US.
Brookfield is investing $15bn for a 49 per cent stake in Intel’s expansion of its Arizona site, and brings experience in developing infrastructure assets such as transmission lines, data centres and wireless cell towers. Intel, which described the partnership as “a new funding model to the capital-intensive semiconductor industry”, will retain a 51 per cent stake.
“Our agreement with Brookfield is a first for our industry, and we expect it will allow us to increase flexibility while maintaining capacity on our balance sheet to create a more distributed and resilient supply chain,” Intel chief financial officer David Zinsner said.