Intel advances Arizona, Ohio factory projects as chip demand outlook improves

Intel is making progress on its long-delayed U.S. factory expansion, with equipment installation underway at a new Arizona plant and construction advancing at its planned Ohio complex, Bloomberg first reported.

Naga Chandrasekaran, Intel’s vice president, said in a post on the company’s website that installation of manufacturing equipment had begun at Fab 62, located at the chipmaker’s Ocotillo campus near Phoenix. In New Albany, Ohio, workers have installed the first major roof truss at the company’s planned semiconductor manufacturing site.

The projects are central to Intel’s efforts to regain its technological leadership and expand its foundry business, which produces chips for outside customers.

Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan, who took over in March 2025, has adopted a more cautious approach to capital spending, saying projects such as the Ohio facility would proceed only when demand justified the investment. Progress at both sites suggests Intel is moving ahead with its expansion, though it has not signaled a broader shift in spending policy.

At the Ocotillo campus south of Phoenix, Fab 52 is already operational, while Fab 62 is expected to begin production in early 2028.

Equipping a semiconductor factory is among the most expensive stages of construction, with individual manufacturing tools costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Intel’s ability to bring new capacity online and secure enough customers will be crucial to its ambitions in advanced chip manufacturing.