Exclusive: Chipmakers have grown complacent, former Intel CEO says

According to a PowerPoint presentation reviewed by Semafor, former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the industry is failing to innovate on new technologies that could create exponential performance gains. Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger had some pointed words for the semiconductor industry this week at a private gathering of industry leaders: Namely, they aren’t “paranoid” enough. According to a PowerPoint presentation reviewed by Semafor, Gelsinger said the industry has grown too complacent and is failing to innovate on new technologies that could create exponential performance gains. While the AI boom has created record demand for every part of the semiconductor stack, current technologies are being stretched to their limits, he said. Everything from the lithography used to imprint circuits on chips to the technology that connects chips to one another, to the cooling systems in server racks, is beginning to run into the boundaries of the laws of physics. One slide in the presentation was labeled: “Stop waiting for the physics to break.” Gelsinger was speaking in front of an audience represented by most of the leading semiconductor companies at the International Trade Partners Conferen