As US President Joe Biden promises billions of dollars to build American capacitor production, Intel are looking to become the world’s number one semiconductor company.

Intel is in talks to buy chip maker Global Foundries for $US30b, a company owned by the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government.

The deal, if it happens, will far surpass the company’s earmarked $20 billion plans to bolster its new manufacturing unit – named Intel Foundry Services.

GlobalFoundries, was once owned by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices, who spun the company off in 2008. However, the rivalry may be lessened follow this purchase; AMD has a multi-year deal to buy $1.6 billion worth of semiconductors from Global Foundries.

This acquisition news comes as the global chipmarking leader TSMC announces plans to buy new factories in the US and Japan to markedly scale up production.

It will also expand its Chinese production.

“We are expanding our global manufacturing footprint to sustain and enhance our competitive advantages and to better serve our customers in the new geopolitical environment,” TSMC chairman Mark Liu told Reuters.

Liu says TSMC will spend at least $US100bn on lifting production over the next few years.