Are Semiconductors Critical? Plus, Intel’s US Chipmaking Investment and More
Interested in the latest news about semiconductors? Elektor has you covered. Read on.
As 2022 kicks off, industry executives, engineers, and students alike must stay on top of semiconductor news. In this edition of News Bytes, we update you on a few key semiconductor-related happenings. We also touch on the various ways (in addition to your Elektor Labs account) that you can interact with Elektor engineers and editors about semiconductors, DIY projects, and much more. Read on!
Are Semiconductors Essential?
The food and energy industries have long been regarded as essential. But what about the semiconductor industry? Some high-tech industry analysts are now arguing that the events of the past two years — such as COVID-19-related shutdowns and the global chip shortage — have placed semiconductors in the "essential" category. "Across multiple end markets, the absence of a single critical chip, often costing less than a dollar, can prevent the sale of a device worth tens of thousands of dollars," Deloitte states in its recently published "2022 Semiconductor Industry Outlook" report. "Based on our analysis, the chip shortage of the past two years resulted in revenue misses of more than US$500 billion worldwide between the semiconductor and its customer industries, with lost auto sales of more than US$210 billion in 2021 alone." This points to the ever-growing importance of semiconductors. What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the Comments section below.Chips + Football = Business for Ohio, USA
Like chips (i.e., micro not potato) and football (i.e., American football not soccer)? Citizens of the midwestern US state of Ohio sure do. And they’ve had a lot to celebrate during the past several days. On Saturday, January 22, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans partied long into the night to celebrate the Cincinnati Bengals's last-minute win over the Tennessee Titans in a thrilling American football match. The win puts the team in the AFC Championship and means positive news for sports- and entertainment-related businesses throughout the Midwestern United States. In other news, just last Friday, Intel announced plans to invest over $20 billion in chipmaking factories in Ohio. Both the football win and the chip factory investment are likely to yield countless positive economic benefits for Ohio’s business community in terms of new jobs and investments in the coming months and even years. “As the largest single private-sector investment in Ohio history, the initial phase of the project is expected to create 3,000 Intel jobs and 7,000 construction jobs over the course of the build, and to support tens of thousands of additional local long-term jobs across a broad ecosystem of suppliers and partners,” Intel announced. “The total investment in the site could grow to as much as $100 billion over the next decade, making it one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world.”Elektor Staffers on Social Media
Over the past few months, Elektor has gained thousands of new followers on social media. We now have more than YouTube (Elektor TV) 21,400 subscribers. Plus, we have more than 15,500 followers across our Twitter accounts, with for @Elektor in the lead. We also have more than 36,000 Facebook followers across our English (@ElektorLabs) and German (@ElektorDE) Facebook pages. But that’s not all! You also can interact directly with the following Elektor engineers and editors.- Clemens Valens (@Clemens_Elektor): Want insights about home automation, tips about DIY electronics, or updates about the Elektor Labs platform? Clemens has you covered. Reach out to him on Twitter and watch his tutorials, project videos, and tutorials at Elektor TV.
- C. J. Abate (@Elektor_US): Follow Elektor’s Content Director for essential industry news, interviews with engineers, and updates on everything Elektor, from Elektor Mag to new products in the Elektor Store.
- Mathias Claussen (@ElektorMathias): In 2021, Mathias led or participated in many helpful Elektor webinars and videos. An innovative engineer who loves diving into engineering and software problems, Mathias has a wide range of technical skills. He regularly shares projects updates and news about the Elektor Lab team. Don’t miss his next post!
