Pat Gelsinger, the former chief executive of Intel, has criticized Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) decision to invest an additional $100 billion in advanced chip manufacturing plants in the United States, arguing that the move does little to help the country regain its leadership in semiconductor production.
His remarks come shortly after the White House praised TSMC’s investment as a milestone in efforts to bring production of advanced semiconductors back to US soil. However, Gelsinger insists that without research and development (R&D) capabilities in the US, the country cannot expect to achieve long-term leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.
“If you don’t have R&D in the US, you will not have semiconductor leadership in the US,” Gelsinger said. “All of the R&D work of TSMC is in Taiwan, and they haven’t made any announcements to move that.”
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Trump’s Tariff Pressure Beneficial to US Chip Industry
Despite his skepticism about TSMC’s investment, Gelsinger acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies had been “incrementally beneficial” in incentivizing chip manufacturers like TSMC to expand their presence in the United States. The Trump administration has pushed for greater US-based chip production amid concerns about Intel’s ability to compete with its Taiwanese rival.
Intel, once the undisputed leader in semiconductor manufacturing, lost its technological edge to TSMC over a decade ago. Under Gelsinger’s leadership, the company had embarked on an ambitious turnaround plan aimed at regaining that position, but his abrupt departure late last year underlines the board’s loss of confidence in his strategy.
“I wasn’t done with the five-plus years when the board made a directional change,” Gelsinger said, hinting at disagreements over Intel’s long-term vision. His successor, Lip-Bu Tan, appointed earlier this month, has yet to outline his strategy for Intel’s future.
TSMC to Keep R&D in Taiwan
TSMC has confirmed that its US expansion will focus solely on existing process technology rather than the development of next-generation semiconductor innovations. Gelsinger argues that without cutting-edge research in the US, the country will remain at a disadvantage.
“Unless you’re designing the next-generation transistor technology in the US, you do not have leadership in the US,” he said.
While Intel has struggled to regain its manufacturing lead, the US still maintains a technological edge in areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. Gelsinger, who has since joined Silicon Valley venture capital firm Playground Global, is now focusing on investments in “deep tech” innovations, including quantum computing and advanced semiconductor technologies.
Dismissing DeepSeek’s Threat, Advocating Cost Reductions for AI
Addressing concerns about China’s growing AI capabilities, Gelsinger dismissed recent fears surrounding DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that made waves with its low-cost AI technology. He argued that while the company’s work was solid engineering, it did not represent any groundbreaking innovations.
“DeepSeek was good engineering, it wasn’t core innovations. It wasn’t major breakthroughs,” he said.
Gelsinger also pointed out that while AI has revolutionized technology, its current high costs remain a barrier to broader adoption. He stressed that significant cost reductions in AI inference—the process of running AI models—are necessary for the technology to be fully integrated into everyday life.
“AI, as exciting as it is, is much too expensive,” he said. “We have to have dramatic reductions in the cost of inference for it to be truly deployed in every aspect of humanity.”
Silicon Valley’s Future Investments in Chip Technologies
Gelsinger’s new role at Playground Global positions him at the forefront of emerging semiconductor innovations. The firm backs start-ups such as xLight, which develops advanced lasers for future chip-making lithography, and PsiQuantum, which is building large-scale quantum computing systems. Another investment, d-Matrix, is attempting to surpass Nvidia in AI chip development.
While his tenure at Intel did not yield the intended results, Gelsinger’s continued involvement in deep technology suggests he remains committed to shaping the future of semiconductor and AI advancements. However, he didn’t attempt to answer the broader question: can the United States regain its semiconductor leadership, or will it continue to rely on foreign companies like TSMC without securing the critical R&D capabilities needed for long-term dominance?