Making Chips in America: Fireside Chat with Keith Krach & Pat Gelsinger | Mainstage

Mitch Daniels, President of Purdue University, opened the session by describing the Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue as an important tool to bridge innovation with foreign policy. When goals are aligned, he said, pro-freedom outcomes are more likely. Semiconductors are at the center. Human capital, continued Keith Krach, Chair of the Center for Tech Diplomacy Advisory Board and Former U.S. Under Secretary of State, is a crucial raw material necessary for semiconductors. 

For Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, the U.S. needs robust talent pipelines as it moves more production to the U.S. Onshoring production will be important for the nation’s security and for its businesses. Intel plans to expand rapidly to develop more fabrication facilities that will provide jobs and economic opportunity for the nation.

Krach highlighted his belief in the importance of trust for the semiconductor supply chain. Gelsinger agreed, expressing faith that a globally-resilient and geographically-balanced supply chain is required for a prosperous and secure economic future. Krach and Gelsinger also agreed that incentives from the federal government could be a catalyst to create more skilled, higher-paying jobs.

• Moving semiconductor manufacturing back to the west makes strategic, political, and economic sense. 
• When governments can provide the incentives, the private sector can provide the jobs.