NEW YORK, 09 Nov. - (ANA) - 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 Conference organized by SEMI, a chip industry trade association.

 

Gelsinger pointed to several new breakthroughs in areas like optics, power management, and cooling that the industry has yet to adopt. He named several new companies, including some in the portfolio of Playground Global, the venture capital firm he now works for.

 

“We need AI to be 10,000X better,” the presentation said. “That’s the opportunity. Not a better chip, but an entirely new kind of system.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/09 November 2026 - - -