Why it matters: The Biden administration's continuing attempts to address the semiconductor shortage problem will take another step next week when the president meets executives from top chipmakers and automakers, including Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger.
In February, the Biden administration announced it was getting involved in the chip shortage crisis, which has had a significant impact on the automotive industry, among others. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the Biden team was "identifying potential chokepoints in the supply chain and actively working alongside key stakeholders in industry and with our trading partners to do more now."
Reuters reports that Biden's team has put together a meeting for April 12 to discuss the semiconductor supply chain issues. Attendees will reportedly include Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, economic aide Brian Deese, and Intel boss Gelsinger.
Biden last week announced infrastructure investment plans that include $50 billion for the US semiconductor industry. The money will fuel production incentives and R&D, including the creation of a National Semiconductor Technology Center.
Gelsinger recently revealed that Intel would be spending $20 billion on two new state-of-the-art fabs focused on EUV-based (extreme ultraviolet) process technologies at 7nm and below in Arizona. Global Foundries, meanwhile, is doubling its expansion budget to $1.5 billion this year.
The global chip shortage has led to a situation where graphics cards and many other components are almost impossible to find and cost way above MSRP. Asus looks set to increase the price of its products, again, as a result, and there are rumors that Nvidia will increase the GTX 1650 supply to the desktop market as a way of easing the strain.
Masthead image credit: U.S. Secretary of Defense