Intel plans to invest $178 million in India to expand its research and development division and build a new state-of-the-art design house in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The new campus will be stretched to eight acres in the southeastern suburb of the city and generate about 3,000 jobs over the next 18 months.
State-of-the-art facility
In a press release, Nivruti Rai, Intel India general manager and vice president of Data Center Group, stated, “Intel India plays a very strategic role in Intel’s growth, with significant contributions to Intel’s technology and product leadership.”
The upcoming facility will primarily be used for chip design and verification purposes. The U.S. firm is also looking to bring together its R&D operations at this new campus.
According to the reports, the new facility will be smart and green with all the IoT-based smart features, such as smart lights and real-time occupancy management. Further, Intel plans to use renewable energy sources such as fuel cell-based power to manage the facilities.
The facility will be built using “One High Technology,” in which each floor is constructed on the ground and is then lifted and added to the building. Thereafter, it is built from the roof downward. Using such technology lowers the scheduled construction time by 30% compared to traditional methods.
“Bengaluru has the right potential required for growth in the IT industries and such an investment will propel the state and in turn move the country forward in achieving greater heights,” said Karnataka’s Minister of Information Technology & Biotechnology Priyank Kharge.
Intel plans big investments in India
Intel’s latest investment follows the $2 billion invested in the country through 2016. In India, the chip maker has a workforce of 7,000 techies involved in designing and powering semiconductor chips for global customers, including original equipment manufacturers of computers, smartphones and various other electronic devices.
Outside of the United States, India is the country where the company has the largest design center, which was opened about 15 years ago. Since then, the company has been working toward hiring and developing talent and building state-of-the-art facilities to grow its presence in the country, notes thetechportal.
Release date for Core i9 chips released
Intel also announced the shipping dates for its Core i9 chip family a few days ago, but it was a disappointment for those who have been waiting for a long time. The company has spread the release date out several months, notes PCWorld.
During the E3 show in Los Angeles, the chip maker announced that lower-end 4-core, 8-core and 10-core chips from Core i9 would be released as soon as next week. The mid-range 12-core Core i9-7920X will be released in August, while the high-end and fastest Core i9 won’t start shipping until October. The 14-core Core i9-7940X, the 16-Core Core i9-7960X, and the 18-core Core i9-7980XE Extreme Edition will be available toward the end of this year. This will give arch rival AMD and its 16-core Ryzen Threadripper a decent head start.
On Tuesday, Intel shares closed up 0.42% at $35.88. Year to date, the stock is down more than 1%, while in the last month, the stock is up more than 2%.
