Intel & AWS expand partnership with USD $7.8 billion investment

Intel and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced a significant expansion of their partnership through a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment in custom chip designs. Under this agreement, Intel will produce an AI Fabric Chip for AWS on its most advanced process node, the Intel 18A, as well as a custom Xeon 6 chip on Intel 3. This builds on their existing collaboration, where Intel already produces Xeon Scalable processors for AWS.

Intel's CEO, Pat Gelsinger, stated, "This expansion of our longtime relationship with AWS reflects the strength of our process technology and delivers differentiated solutions for customer workloads. Intel's chip design and manufacturing capabilities, combined with the comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud, AI and machine learning services of AWS, will unleash innovation across our shared ecosystem and support the growth of both businesses, as well as a sustainable domestic AI supply chain." These remarks highlight the strategic importance of the partnership in advancing technology and meeting customer needs.

Matt Garman, CEO at AWS, noted, "At AWS, we're committed to delivering the most powerful and innovative cloud infrastructure to our customers. By co-developing next-generation AI fabric chips on Intel 18A, we continue our long-standing collaboration, dating back to 2006 when we launched the first Amazon EC2 instance featuring their chips. Our continued collaboration allows us to empower our joint customers with the ability to run any workload and unlock new AI capabilities." Garman's comments emphasise the long-term benefits the collaboration seeks to provide for their shared clientele.

The expanded collaboration aims to accelerate U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing, focusing on Intel's facilities in Ohio. Intel has expressed ongoing commitment to the New Albany area, planning to build leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing capabilities there. AWS is set to invest USD $7.8 billion to expand its data centre operations in Central Ohio, adding to the USD $10.3 billion it has invested in the state since 2015.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine remarked, "This collaboration between Intel and AWS is a great development for U.S.-based manufacturing and solidifying Ohio as a leader in AI. Today's announcement furthers Intel's commitment to U.S. manufacturing sites, like Ohio's, as well as AWS's commitment to its nearly decade-long investment in our state." His statement underscores the local significance of the initiative in promoting technological leadership and economic growth in Ohio.

In the future, Intel and AWS plan to explore additional designs produced by Intel based on the Intel 18A process node, to be manufactured in Intel's Ohio facilities. This includes looking into further advancements and migrations to future nodes like Intel 18AP and Intel 14A. Through these developments, both companies aim to enhance their technological infrastructure and support broader innovation within the AI ecosystem.

The partnership, which has lasted over 18 years, has focused on aiding organisations of all sizes in developing, building, and deploying critical workloads in the cloud. This long-standing relationship, rooted in reducing costs and complexity while increasing security and scalability, marks this latest investment as another significant step in their collaborative journey towards technological advancement and improved customer outcomes.