At its Rio Rancho campus, Intel has revived the dormant Fab 9 and paired it with Fab 11X to build a dedicated advanced‑packaging line. The plant, revived in January 2024 with billions of dollars—including a $500 million CHIPS Act grant—now focuses on stacking chiplets into single, high‑density modules for AI workloads.

Company leaders say packaging will soon outpace wafer sales. CFO Dave Zinsner raised the revenue outlook from “hundreds of millions” to well north of $1 billion, and CEO Lip‑Bu Tan called the technology a major competitive edge. Intel is courting Google and Amazon for large‑scale contracts, hoping those deals will cement its foothold in the fast‑growing foundry segment.

The technical edge comes from Intel’s EMIB family, now upgraded to EMIB‑T, which promises tighter interconnects, lower power draw and better signal integrity than rival approaches. Introduced after earlier EMIB and Foveros processes, EMIB‑T is slated for mass production at Rio Rancho this year, positioning Intel to offer more efficient, space‑saving solutions for custom AI chips.

Beyond the U.S., Intel announced a new packaging phase in Penang, Malaysia, expanding assembly and test capacity to meet global demand. While local groups worry about water use and emissions, Intel asserts its facilities recycle water and aim to support the broader AI hardware boom with a robust packaging ecosystem.