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Pat Gelsinger’s New Mission: Saving Moore’s Law with a Little Help from the Feds
A year after being pushed out of Intel, Pat Gelsinger is still waking up at 4 a.m., still in the thick of the semiconductor wars — just on a different battlefield. Now a general partner at venture firm Playground Global, he’s working with 10 startups, but one portfolio company has captured an outsized share of his attention: xLight, a semiconductor startup that last Monday announced it has struck a preliminary deal for up to $150 million from the U.S. Commerce Department.
The deal is a significant development in the semiconductor industry, which has been facing challenges in recent years. As Gelsinger noted, “You know, I have this long-term mission to continue to see Moore’s law in the semiconductor industry.” Moore’s Law, which states that computing power should double every two years, has been the driving force behind the industry’s innovation and growth. However, as transistors have gotten smaller and more complex, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain this pace of progress.
The xLight Solution
xLight is developing massive “free electron lasers” powered by particle accelerators that could revolutionize chip manufacturing. The company plans to build machines roughly 100 meters by 50 meters — about the size of a football field — that will sit outside semiconductor fabrication plants. These free electron lasers would generate extreme ultraviolet light at wavelengths as precise as 2 nanometers, far more powerful than the 13.5 nanometer wavelengths currently used by ASML, the Dutch giant that utterly dominates the EUV lithography market.
According to Nicholas Kelez, the CEO of xLight, “The difference was the technology wasn’t as mature” when ASML abandoned a similar approach almost a decade ago. However, with EUV ubiquitous in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing and existing light source technology hitting its limits, the timing looks better now. The key innovation, according to Kelez, is treating light like a utility rather than building it into each machine.
A New Era of Government Investment
The xLight deal is the first Chips and Science Act award under Trump’s second term, using funding earmarked for early-stage companies with promising technologies. The deal has raised questions about the role of government investment in the semiconductor industry. As California Governor Gavin Newsom asked, “What the hell happened to free enterprise?” The deal has also sparked concerns about the potential for government overreach and the impact on the industry’s traditional free-market principles.
Gelsinger, however, is unapologetic, framing it as necessary for national competitiveness. “I measure it by the results,” he said. “Does it drive the results that we want and that we need to reinvigorate our industrial policies?” He pointed to energy policy as another example, noting that the US is not building enough nuclear reactors, while China is building 39.
A New Chapter for Gelsinger
For Gelsinger, xLight is clearly more than just another portfolio company. It’s a chance to cement his relevance in the semiconductor industry that he helped build, even if his methods put him at odds with Silicon Valley’s traditional ethos. As he noted, “CEOs and companies should neither be Republican or Democrat. Your job is to accomplish the business objective, serve your investors, serve your shareholders.”
When asked if working across 10 startups is enough for someone who used to run Intel, Gelsinger was emphatic. “Absolutely. The idea that I can now influence across such a wide range of technologies — I’m a deep tech guy at the core of who I am.” He added with a grin, “And I gave my wife back her weekends.”
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Image Credit: techcrunch.com