Intel is building its largest 3D chip packaging facility in Malaysia
24 Aug 2023
- Intel is building a factory in Penang, Malaysia, and it will soon be the US chip giant’s first overseas facility for advanced 3D chip packaging.
- Intel also built a chip assembly and testing factory in another district in Malaysia as part of a US$7 billion expansion.
- The question is whether Intel can weather a cyclical collapse in demand to make good on its expansion plans.
In the global semiconductor value chain, Malaysia has always been a global center for testing and assembling – and no-one knows that better than Intel Corp. The US chip giant has been in the Southeast Asian nation for the last 51 years, with Malaysia opening Intel’s first international manufacturing facility in 1972.
In December 2021, the company renewed its commitment, that includes a US$7 billion investment over the course of a decade, bringing the total investment in Malaysia by the US chip giant to US$14 billion as of 2032. The US$7 billion in investments is mainly to increase the size of its operations in Penang and Kulim, Kedah.
As it is, Malaysia is Intel’s largest offshore site, with a workforce exceeding 10,000 employees across two campuses in Penang and Kulim. It is one of the largest assembly and test facilities, and a mature site with multi-functions in manufacturing, design, development, and local and global support services.
It has just been revealed that another factory being built in Penang will be Intel’s first overseas facility for advanced 3D chip packaging, known as Intel’s Foveros technology. Malaysia will eventually become Intel’s largest production base for 3D chip packaging, Robin Martin, corporate vice president for manufacturing supply chain and operations, told reporters this week.
The company, however, did not specify when the facility would begin mass production. A report by Nikkei Asia quoted Intel saying that Amazon, Cisco, and the US government have committed to using its advanced packaging technology.
