Tech juggernaut IBM (NYSE: IBM) and chip giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) will invest $4.4 billion over five years to create a hub for next-generation computer chip technology in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
IBM, the world’s biggest computer-services provider, will spend $3.6 billion to develop computer chips using 22-nanometer and 14-nanometer process technology, said Michael Loughran, a company spokesman. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter and measures the size of transistors in a chip. Lower numbers indicate more advanced technology.
Facilities will be created or expanded at the nanotechnology center next to the University at Albany and in other locations.
Intel, IBM, Globalfoundries Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. will focus on transforming 300-millimeter wafer technology into 450- millimeter technology, which will produce twice the number of chips, according to a statement from Cuomo’s office.
“This is really all about the computing systems IBM and others will construct using advanced technologies,” John Kelly, senior vice president and director of research at Armonk, New York-based IBM, said at a press conference in Albany. “This will create computers that will help doctors diagnose advanced diseases.”
The investment will retain and create 6,900 jobs in the state, including 2,500 new technology roles.
To support the project, the state will make a $400 million investment in the State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany.
Research and development facilities located in Canandaigua, Utica, East Fishkill and Yorktown Heights also will receive cash, according to the statement.
“This unprecedented investment in New York’s economy will create thousands of jobs and make the state the epicenter for the next generation of computer chip technology,” Cuomo said in the statement.
Get the latest news alerts: Follow WRAL Tech Wire at Twitter.
