New York Times: The White House Bet Big on Intel. Will It Backfire?

“As they designed the chips program, Ms. Raimondo and Biden officials weighed how to support Intel while safeguarding taxpayer money. They were already questioning whether Intel could follow through on its promises, several officials said.

David Yoffie, a longtime Intel board member, said he had told officials that Intel had a history of struggling to make chips for others. “Intel was going down a path that I wasn’t confident would succeed,” Mr. Yoffie said.

Caitlin Legacki, a former Commerce Department official, said there also was a fear that “Intel is going to take chips money, build an empty shell of a factory and then never actually open it, because they don’t have customers.” This is why the program was designed to withhold payments until companies hit certain milestones, she said.

Intel’s plant in Arizona was a cautionary tale. In 2012, Intel hosted President Barack Obama at the site and trumpeted a $5 billion investment. It constructed the building, but waited several years to fill the factory with machinery because it didn’t have enough customers, said two former Intel employees.”

Read the full article at NYTimes.com.