Intel confirmed last week that construction at its Licking County [no really. ed]  site will slow even further. While 14A is not expected to debut until 2027, Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan made it clear that without external revenue, the Ohio operation is on the chopping block. The company admitted in its latest earnings call that relying solely on Intel Products won’t be enough to sustain the Foundry business.

The problem is that Intel Products and Intel Foundry may wear different hats inside the company, but to the outside world, they’re still the same beast. Potential customers, many of whom compete directly with Intel Products, are understandably wary of handing over their secrets to a firm that’s still their rival.

Tan has promised to rebuild trust, saying he’s spent the past few months meeting clients and listening to complaints about why they don’t use Intel’s process nodes. He claims the company is learning from past failures and insists Intel can still become a credible foundry business.

That will be a hard sell. Even Intel Products sometimes bypasses its own foundry in favour of rivals like TSMC. And with no real client wins for 14A, Intel’s grand plan for US manufacturing dominance looks shakier by the day.

Without external demand, the firm has warned that Ohio’s plant will “likely” shut down entirely, a move that could spark massive losses. Chipzilla has sunk more than $100 billion into Foundry sites globally and may have to repay billions in incentives to state and federal governments. That includes a $1.5 billion chunk of the CHIPS Act funding earmarked for Ohio, part of a larger $7.9 billion award signed with the US Commerce Department in 2024.

Not that the money is flowing. Intel says it hasn’t received any reimbursements from the CHIPS Act since April, despite submitting claims totalling $850 million. The only payments came before Donald Trump took office and given his scepticism towards the programme, that may stay closed.

Tan is now realigning Foundry strategy to be more reactive to market demand, which means no more speculative spending. That leaves Ohio’s fate hanging on whether Intel can pull a rabbit out of its 14A hat in time. Until then, construction will crawl and hope will be rationed

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