> I don't see how that big investment for relative low volume production would make sense for consumer products.

If the consumer product is a toy then sure. If it’s a medical device then it could make sense. It’s all about margin.

> After GlobalFoundries quit the race, US defense contractors have only Intel as supplier for many components.

Maybe. If you want millions of chips a quarter then sure. But if you want 1000s a quarter then there are many options, depending on the node I guess. I’m not going to Google a complete list but one obvious example is Texas Instruments.