January 26, 2023
Intel will not build the $700 million ‘mega lab’ it had planned in Hillsboro, Oregon, instead opting for less expensive alternatives as it implements billions of dollars in cost cuts in the face of declining revenue.
“As we accelerate our strategy and respond to the current demand environment, we are looking to reduce costs and increase efficiencies through multiple initiatives,” an Intel spokesperson said. “This includes exploring more cost-effective real estate options to continue our data center R&D work in Oregon that is already in progress.”
Intel will continue to conduct data center research at the Hillsboro facility, where construction was set to begin this year. According to Bruce, the work will take place in another location in Oregon.
In response to sales that were at least 16% below targets last year, Intel is seeking $3 billion in spending cuts for 2023, with billions more in future years. Next Thursday, Intel will release its fourth-quarter financial results.
Intel announced plans for the site, which is located 20 miles west of Portland, in May. The company intends to use the facility as a research and development center to prototype, qualify, test, and demo its datacenter portfolio using various cooling technologies.
This data center cancellation represents yet another stumbling block in Intel’s quest to challenge AMD’s dominance in the data center chip space. When AMD launched Ryzen AI, the first x86 chip to run an AI engine, Intel suffered a significant setback. Furthermore, AMD’s MI300 chip is being positioned as the chip of choice for hyperscalers seeking HPC-level AI processing power.
The sources for this piece include an article in Datacenterknowledge.
