Japan to partner with Intel to build chip research facility – report

The Japanese national research institute is reportedly partnering up with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) in a bid to build a research and development center in Japan for manufacturing semiconductor technology.

The new setup is expected to be built in three to five years, and will consist of extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, Nikkei reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The news comes a day after, the chipmaker’s chief executive officer Patrick Gelsinger and some other key executives are reportedly expected to table a plan later in the month to the board to cut unnecessary businesses and curtail capital spending.

Companies who manufacture equipment and materials will pay a fee to access the facility for prototyping and testing, the Nikkei report added.

Intel (INTC) is expected to provide expertise in chip manufacturing using EUV technology, while Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology will run the facility, the report said.

Intel (INTC) has been grappling with cost issues, and its latest earnings and guidance widely missed expectations, while it said it will cut jobs and suspend its dividend to lower expenses.

The total investment in the facility is anticipated to come into hundreds of millions of dollars, the report added.

Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comments.