Intel opens Fab 9 factory in Rio Rancho

Intel celebrated the opening of Fab 9, its new factory in Rio Rancho, Wednesday.

The new factory is part of Intel’s $3.5 billion investment to equip its New Mexico operations for the manufacturing of advanced semiconductor packaging technologies, including Intel’s 3-D packaging technology, Foveros, which offers flexible options for combining multiple chips that are optimized for power, performance and cost.

The private ribbon cutting event to unveil the new factory was attended by Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury.

“Today, we celebrate the opening of Intel’s first high-volume semiconductor operations and the only U.S. factory producing the world’s most advanced packaging solutions at scale,” said Keyvan Esfarjani, Intel executive vice president and chief global operations officer. “This cutting-edge technology sets Intel apart and gives our customers real advantages in performance, form factor and flexibility in design applications, all within a resilient supply chain. Congratulations to the New Mexico team, the entire Intel family, our suppliers, and contractor partners who collaborate and relentlessly push the boundaries of packaging innovation.”

Intel’s global factory network is a competitive advantage that enables product optimization, improved economies of scale and supply chain resilience. The Fab 9 and Fab 11x facilities in Rio Rancho represent the first operational site for mass production of Intel’s 3-D advanced packaging technology. It is also Intel’s first co-located high-volume advanced packaging site, marking an end-to-end manufacturing process that creates a more efficient supply chain from demand to final product.

“I am so proud to celebrate the ribbon cutting for Intel fab 9. Thank you to Intel for your $3.5 Billion investment in the Rio Rancho facility bringing this once mothballed facility back to life,” Hull posted on social media. “Fab 9 is now the most advanced semiconductor packaging facility on the planet, right here in Rio Rancho.”

Fab 9 will help fuel the next era of Intel’s innovation in advanced packaging technologies. As the semiconductor industry moves into the heterogeneous era that uses multiple “chiplets” in a package, advanced packaging technologies, such as Foveros and EMIB (embedded multi-die interconnect bridge), offer a faster and more cost-efficient path toward achieving 1 trillion transistors on a chip and extending Moore’s Law beyond 2030.

Foveros, Intel’s 3-D advanced packaging technology, is a first-of-its-kind solution that enables the building of processors with compute tiles stacked vertically rather than side-by-side. It also allows Intel and foundry customers to mix and match compute tiles to optimize cost and power efficiency.

“This investment by Intel underscores New Mexico’s continued dedication to bring manufacturing back home to America,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said. “Intel continues to play a key role in the state’s technology landscape and strengthen our workforce, supporting thousands of New Mexico families.”

The $3.5 billion investment in Rio Rancho has created hundreds of high-tech Intel jobs, more than 3,000 construction jobs and an additional 3,500 jobs across the state.

“The good people of Rio Rancho know Intel is really the economic heart of this community,” Stansbury said. “And so by providing support and funding to Intel, we’re helping to build that economic opportunity that helps build small businesses.”