After Pat Gelsinger died Intel as CEO at the end of 2024 held 100 meetings in 100 days. The idea, he recently told WIRED, was to narrow down his options until he figured out what to do next.
In March of the following year, Gelsinger announced that he had taken up a position as general partner at Playground Capital, a deep-tech venture capital firm that took bets on fledgling technologies based on up-to-date science.
Gelsinger took on this role to lend a hand the next generation of semiconductor startups reawaken Moore’s Law. Decades ago, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a chip would double approximately every two years, accompanied by a corresponding augment in performance. This has been true for a long time, but for semiconductor companies Push the limits of physicsit has become too complex and steep to shrink transistors further on an atomic scale.
Gelsinger believes the best way to break this impasse is through advances in lithography – etching chips with nanometer-scale lithe beams. The leading lithography technologydeveloped by Dutch company ASML, enables chipmakers to print using lithe with a wavelength of 13.5 nanometers. Logic goes that the ability to build in more, even smaller, features would unlock even more powerful processors.
After joining Playground, Gelsinger took a position on the board of xLight, a portfolio company developing inventive lithographic techniques that also recently received the investment from the US government. (When we spoke, Gelsinger repeatedly said, “God said, ‘Let there be light.'”)
As artificial intelligence upends the software industry, more and more VC firms are doing so moving towards deep tech. But Gelsinger says few are better equipped than he is to pick the winners.
WIRED caught up with Gelsinger in early July at the RAISE Summit in Paris. We discussed his process for vetting deep tech founders, the U.S. government’s changing stance on artificial intelligence and semiconductors, and why breakthroughs in these fields necessarily go hand in hand.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
WIRE: There were about four months between your departure from Intel and your arrival at Playground. What was going through your mind during this period?
PAT GELSINGER: My wife said, “You’re not done yet.”
I looked at government, university, executive, private equity and venture roles. It was really a deductive process. I decided I didn’t want to do this [any more] public earnings calls. I didn’t see myself as a politician. It all came down to private equity or venture.
I want to do things that matter – and if successful, make a difference – with people I like.
Why did you decide to leave private equity?
Private equity is writing bigger checks, but isn’t as focused on technology. At this point in my career, do I want to write huge checks and worry about financial returns, or do I want to pursue fascinating technology?
We are on the edge of science, proving things. I’ve always been that kind of person. I love technology.
In response to artificial intelligence disruption in the software industry, the VC group is moving into deep tech. What is your view on AI changing where up-to-date investment opportunities arise?
The door was thrown wide open.
In 2024, the semiconductor industry aimed to reach a trillion dollars by 2030. Now we will reach a trillion dollars next year. I don’t need my companies to conquer the market to make extraordinary profits. All I care about is getting a decent percentage. This is what artificial intelligence has done to the deep tech enterprise.
The good news is that many venture capital firms are moving in this direction. The bad news is that they have mostly forgotten how to employ deep technologies – how to pick winners and losers.