Italy’s government has plans to allocate approximately €10 billion to the semiconductor sector this year, according to a report by Ansa quoting Industry Minister Adolfo Urso.
Urso, speaking in Pescara at a meeting of the ruling party Fratelli d’Italia, stated, “Italy is gearing up to become a major player in microelectronics production in Europe.”
Earlier in March, Urso revealed a €3.2 billion investment by the Singaporean startup Silicon Box to construct a semiconductor factory in northern Italy, following unsuccessful attempts to attract investment from American semiconductor giant Intel Corp.
Urso also hinted at upcoming significant announcements in the near future, as per reports from local media.
Meanwhile, the US is pushing allies in Europe and Asia to tighten restrictions on exports of chip-related technology and tools to China.
This is due to escalating concerns about Huawei’s development of advanced semiconductors.
China’s output of legacy semiconductor chips grew by a whopping 40% in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report from South China Morning Post (SCMP).
The massive surge in production suggests China could become the global leader in legacy chip production.
China’s national semiconductor output of legacy chips reached an all-time high, with 36.2 billion units produced in March alone.
Reports claim that China’s output over the past three months is almost three times what it produced in Q1 2019, which was when China started implementing its plan to bring chip production back in-house.
