Massive government infusions aim to improve security and supply chain robustness.
This is the second in a series of articles tracking government chip investments. See part one here.
Since the first announcement of a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with BAE Systems in December 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce has rolled out comprehensive plans to support more than a dozen companies in order to shore up domestic chip manufacturing of vital technology. The next hurdle is how to set and measure milestones once the cash is released.
At this point, a good chunk of the $53 billion is accounted for. (See below for details of government initiatives in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, along with tables showing select government funding programs and award recipients in 2024.)
A senior U.S. Department of Commerce official, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained what happens behind the scenes before a public announcement and the ongoing partnership the government forms with each company.
“The process involves submitting a statement of interest, followed by an optional pre-application and then a full application,” said the official. “Along the way, we have continuous engagements with each applicant and feedback as to the applicability of the projects and how they think they’ll be able to meet the economic and national security requirements and evaluation criteria. We’ve had over 500 Statements of Interest from different companies and more than 100 full applications, and there is a filtering process that happens. We have outlined six evaluation criteria in our Notice of Funding that ranges from economic and national security, to commercial viability, to financial strength — all the way to their ability to impact the wider ecosystem. And we go through them in a formulaic but open way, according to what they present to us, and then we evaluate their potential ability to meet our core objectives as a program. We have teams of experts, as well as financial professionals, that look at each proposal very carefully, and we have an iterative feedback process with each of the applicants to make sure that we understand their proposal correctly so that we can give them feedback and suggestions as to how they can shape their applications to meet our objectives more clearly.”
Todd Younkin, president and CEO of Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), offered further insight into the funding process. “A Notice of Intent (NOI), such as the recent National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) announcement of $1.6 billion for five topical R&D areas, is saying, ‘We plan to put out a funding opportunity and this is what it should look like,’” he said. “’We’re giving you this preview to team up and begin to formulate your idea, because things will move quickly once the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is released.’” [Younkin is also a member of the Chips Act Industrial Advisory Committee, but in this interview was not speaking on behalf of that committee.]
As for the difference between a competition and a call for proposals, Younkin said they are essentially the same. “With the digital twin CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute, there was an NOI released in February, a signal to begin the teaming process. Then, the NOFO dropped in early May.”
Unlike other government grant programs, the CHIPS Act funding process is not a black box where an organization might submit an application then hear nothing until there is a decision.
“It is creating a partnership with each potential awardee to make sure that, together as government and company, we fill the national economic objectives that we have articulated clearly,” said the Commerce official. “Each of them receives a lot of attention, and we have a lot of engagements with the companies. Anecdotally, for one of the recent PMTs, I heard from our senior relationship director that there was a cadence of, if not daily, then weekly communications with the company, from submission to the announcement of the PMT, which speaks to how closely engaged we are with each of the companies.”
Awards have ranged from BAE System’s $35 million to Intel’s $8.5 billion, and the numbers are arrived at after financial and market due diligence by both the company and the government.
“The numbers are based upon what the companies propose to build and how much that costs,” said the Commerce official. “We ask for financial information in terms of the projected revenues for the life of the project. We have outlined in a Notice of Funding that we expect the funding to fall somewhere between 5% and 15% of the total project funding. And so there’s an iterative process in which we evaluate how much is appropriate to make that project happen within the United States that otherwise would not happen. We take in the information that they give us, and we also do models and projections of our own in terms of the demand and supply analysis and financial analysis, and we come to an agreement on those terms. The Secretary [of Commerce, Gina Raimondo] has mentioned that one of the things that we will be judged on is the degree to which we were good stewards of taxpayer money. And so we do want to encourage these projects, but we do not want to pay more than we have to in order to make sure those projects happen, and that’s part of the reason why you see very exact figures.”
In September, Polar Semiconductor was the first company to receive CHIPS Act funding, following the proposal in May 2024. Other companies are facing a longer waiting period. Some headlines have suggested this caused issues, but others disagree.
“I have not heard any negativity,” said Ajit Manocha, CEO of SEMI. “The companies are not waiting for actual funds in their pockets. They have strong financial muscles, so once the commitments have been made they can take it to the bank. That’s good enough. If we can’t trust our government, there’s nobody we can trust in the world.
In any case, more funding awards are expected in the next few months.
“Each project has milestones that trigger fundings to be released,” said the Commerce official. “Some of them will be commercial. Some of them will be based on construction. Some of them will be based on, say, getting the commercial contract that they said that they would get if they build the projects. We expect the funds to roll out within the next few months. It won’t be long. I know that there is a bit of impression that the funds are taking a long time, but in terms of how government grants work, this is actually very quick. And as the industry knows, these projects take a long time to build. These are very complicated projects. It takes several months – several years in some cases – to build, and to get customers, and to have the first wafers out that are commercially viable. Some of those funding milestones are related to those things. We expect the funds to be released to the applicants and to the awardees at the appropriate time to make it commercially reasonable for them to execute the projects.”
There also have been comments suggesting companies should not conduct activities like share buybacks or employee layoffs if they are set to receive government funding. In addition, construction delays often are inevitable based on a range of factors. But the Department of Commerce is clear-eyed about the cyclical nature of the industry and the unpredictability as to how demand materializes.
“We’re building in terms, and that’s why we’re creating these partnerships with companies — to make sure that we are cognizant and aware of the shifts that are happening in industry, and that we could pivot with them rather than reacting to any surprise that might come to us,” said the Commerce official. “We’re building this for the long term. I won’t comment on any one company specifically, but I can say that the feedback from each of the companies that we’ve dealt with has been very positive in terms of our ability to understand the market structure and the expertise that we have here to speak their language. The companies themselves have a significant interest in making sure the projects are executed in a way that they say they’ll be executed. Otherwise, they would not propose it to us, because it’s their financial responsibility, as well. We’re not covering the entire project. We built the process to work with them continuously to make sure that we outline the value of the project and what has the most value to us, and they’re delivering as long as they’re commercially reasonable and are slated for long-term success.”
Given that the goal is to shore up domestic manufacturing capability, it may have surprised some people to see significant awards going to Taiwan’s TSMC ($6.6 billion) and South Korea’s Samsung ($6.4 billion). However, it is generally considered to be a win-win vote of confidence for U.S. standing in the global supply chain.
“I can’t speak for every possible commenter out there, but we recognize that this is a global industry, and that companies in different locations have technology strengths that are unique to them, and we are interested in building a U.S. ecosystem that can provide technology leadership as well as supply chain resilience,” said the Commerce official. “And so that meant that we wanted to invite any company from across the world, U.S. companies, as well as companies from our ally partners, to propose projects to us. That was always our stance, that we wanted to make sure that we fund the best proposed projects and not necessarily favor companies from any one location.”
SEMI’s Manocha agrees. “Having the international companies in the U.S. is very good for the country, and it helps to balance out the ecosystem,” said SEMI’s Manocha. “Right now, all the consumer products chips are going to companies such as Samsung and LG, mostly in South Korea. From a geopolitical and climate point of view, if something unfortunate happens in that part of the world, we’re in deep trouble. But with those companies investing in the U.S. and getting CHIPS funding, those consumer chips will also get made in the U.S. This is very useful because humanity is dependent on them. By expanding the number of hubs, you are minimizing the risk of calamities and de-risking the supply chain disruptions. The CHIPS Act gives the U.S. the chance to regain leadership and more control.”
Within the U.S., CHIPS funding has been sprinkled around the country, from Oregon to Arizona, Texas to Florida, and up to New York. One region that looks set for growth is the Midwest, with awards made in Ohio and Indiana.
“The Midwest is definitely upcoming,” said Manocha. “Indiana already has an ecosystem, but they want to grow much bigger. SK hynix announced the assembly and test center. So there’s a lot more excitement there and there’s pressure on SEMI to bring SEMICON West into other parts of the country, including Ohio, New York, and the Midwest. We recently announced a show that will debut in Indianapolis in April called SEMIEXPO In The Heartland, held in partnership with Purdue University. We are committed to support growth across the country. Whatever it takes, we will do that.”
SRC is similarly motivated. “We’re excited about the CHIPS Act and serving both the U.S. and like-minded nations,” said Younkin. “We must reinvigorate semiconductor manufacturing while simultaneously working to win the hearts and minds of the next generation of innovators.”
Developing the talent pipeline
There is concern that there will be not enough workers to fill the facilities once they are all built, and initiatives are underway to address the issue before it escalates.
“One of the evaluation criteria that we look at, in terms of CHIPS Act applicants, is their plans to create a workforce in their regions to sufficiently run those facilities and to make sure that there is a healthy labor ecosystem there,” said the Commerce official. “If you ask the executives of companies globally, not just here in the United States, the thing they’ll tell you is that they’re concerned about the workforce, and so we are in it – together with the industry, as well with other agencies – to make sure that we’re creating a vibrant labor ecosystem, to make sure that those paths are filled, and that the new generation of workers at all skill levels is able to come into this ecosystem. So some of the requirements that we have, and which is agreed upon by the companies, are related to workforce and they’re excited about them. Yes, there is a potential for some shortfalls of labor, but there are things that we can do now to make sure that that that risk is mitigated. The industry is cognizant that it needs multiple solutions to make sure that their workforce is as good as it can be, not just one solution. There are things that can and should be done at local levels to make sure that our growing clusters and ecosystems are well staffed by and large. What I’m really excited about is seeing these clusters being formed. It really transforms those communities. I come from a manufacturing household. My mother used to work at a frozen food factory. It provided wages, health insurance, and things that a middle class needs, and so we’re excited to see that grow here in the United States.”
SEMI’s Manocha agrees there is cause for optimism. “Seven or eight years ago, we started planning and scoping and executing multiple initiatives,” he said. “Now we are actually filling the pipeline. One of the most important efforts is that we are actively going after veterans, educating and reskilling them in a very structured approach. SEMI has built the initiatives from soup to nuts, from elementary schools to middle school and high schools through universities and career advancement. At every SEMI event, we have a workforce pavilion, and we are helping people to go through apprenticeship programs. So we see light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Companies are also stepping up their efforts. For example, in September 2023, Intel announced a $50 million multi-year investment with Ohio universities, community colleges, and other institutions to develop talent for its upcoming fabs. An additional $100 million in nationwide funding will be available through a partnership between Intel and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Then, in July 2024, Intel launched an apprenticeship program to support its new fabs in Arizona, which are set to benefit from CHIPS Act funds.
“There’s a workforce shortage in the industry, and everyone is familiar with the numbers that we expect by the end of the decade,” said Cindi Harper, vice president of talent planning and acquisition at Intel. “There’s a particular shortage of facilities technicians who have hands on experience in gases and chemicals. More importantly, there’s a gap in under-represented minorities and women. We know that we are more innovative as a company when we have diversification, and for some reason this particular field in technicians doesn’t attract a lot of women naturally. So we know we need to do something different. We’re working directly with Fresh Start, the Arizona Commerce Authority, SEMI, the City of Phoenix, and Maricopa Community College collectively to target that population.”
The program will be a one-year certification process with classroom and on-site training, Harper said. “The biggest piece is making sure they have interest or a desire and just getting them in the door. The MCC Quick Start gives them a two-week, 80-hour introduction, like, ‘Yeah, I could see myself in a bunny suit, yeah, I could see myself troubleshooting.’ And if they’re like, ‘Yes, I see myself having a career,’ then those are the ones that we start to look for on this apprenticeship.’
As with Registered Apprenticeships, the participants are hired as company employees and receive a salary. Partnerships with local organizations means Intel participants also receive wraparound services such as childcare to make it easier for them to work, pay tuition, and study. Intel’s goal is to start in Arizona, then evolve the program, likely to Oregon. And while apprenticeships are new for Intel USA, the company already runs similar programs elsewhere.
“We are using apprenticeships in Germany,” said Harper. “The government there has a very strong infrastructure that we can tap into. As for Ireland, right now, we have filled the needs of the factory working on our latest technology there. We continue to invest in the two-year, four-year school equivalents in Ireland, and will continue to have those workforce investments in Europe.”
Even so, finding talent remains a challenge worldwide.
“In terms of technicians, they all have their challenges, and that’s why we started to customize based on what works in each community,” said Harper. “We can start in K-12 STEM education, all the way through. The location matters too. ‘What’s the population you can tap into? What is your competition there?’ Those kinds of things all play in. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily easier in other countries, but it’s different, for sure.”
Below are details of government funding, programs, and partnerships announced in 2024 in the U.S. and select countries in the Americas.
The USA
The U.S. government stepped up support of the semiconductor industry in 2022 with the passing of the $53 billion CHIPS and Science Act and, since then, multiple awards have been made to companies targeting particular sections of the supply chain in an effort to reshore manufacturing and protect the country from geopolitical disruption. Key agencies include the Department of Commerce (DoC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which runs CHIPS for America and details funding opportunities.
In terms of R&D, there are several key initiatives with an $11 billion budget from CHIPS Act funding:
Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi noted the significance of CHIPS Act R&D initiatives in a release commemorating the act’s second anniversary in August 2024. “As progress on manufacturing projects continues, we must also fortify this foundation with the essential research and development needed to fill fabs,” Ghazi said. “R&D is the lifeblood of the semiconductor industry, and investments in this area will deliver step-function gains that benefit the entire ecosystem to overcome unprecedented design and manufacturing complexity, as well as foster the next generation of innovators.”
The company also noted it invests 30% of its revenue into R&D.
Another CHIPS Act-funded initiative is the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund to support global partners. For example, the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs awarded a $13.8 million cooperative agreement to Arizona State University to boost assembly, testing, and packaging capabilities in ITSI partner countries in the Americas and Indo-Pacific.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense launched eight Microelectronics Hubs in 2023, funded under the CHIPS Act, and also has a National Defense Industrial Strategy under which it runs the programs Re-shore Ecosystem for Secure Heterogeneous Advanced Packaged Electronics (RESHAPE) and State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging (SHIP). The Economic Development Administration implements the regional Tech Hubs program. The National Science Foundation (NSF) runs the Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program and the public/private Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) Program and (FuSe2) to enable rapid progress in technology, manufacturing, and workforce development.
The U.S. government also supports the semiconductor industry through legislative means, such as exempting certain projects from environmental reviews.
For workforce development, DoC is investing an expected $250 million in the NSTC Workforce Center of Excellence and $11.5 million through the NSTC Workforce Partner Alliance program. The NSF and DoC are jointly investing to train the future semiconductor workforce at all levels. NSF partnered with Micron and GlobalFoundries to boost workforce development at minority-serving institutions. NSF awarded NY CREATES $4.7 million to help establish the Education Alliance for Semiconductor Experiential Learning (EASEL) program. And NSF and DoC launched the Network Coordination Hub for the National Network for Microelectronics Education.
Individual state governments also run programs. For example: The Oregon CHIPS Act was signed into law in 2023, dedicating $240 million to a grant and loan program, $10 million to prepare land for manufacturing sites, and $10 million to help universities secure federal research grants. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced a $20 million Venture Investment for Semiconductor Technology Advancement fund. And Michigan announced a $10 million public-private initiative, Michigan Semiconductor Talent and Technology for Automotive Research (MSTAR). The Tax Foundation detailed various state tax credits and incentives.
A McKinsey & Co. report found that companies have announced more than $200 billion in private investments in U.S. fabs through 2032, separate to the government’s proposed CHIPS Act funding.
Canada
The Canadian government invests in semiconductors and related industries via its $1.26 billion Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), launched by its Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) department in July 2017. In June 2024, CMC Microsystems and ISED launched the FABrIC initiative (Fabrication of Integrated Components for the Internet’s Edge) with a $120 million investment from the SIF.
Other agencies are Invest in Canada and the National Research Council. Key initiatives include $90 million for the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre in 2021, $45 million to strengthen the semiconductor industry in 2022, a $150 million Semiconductor Challenge Callout in 2022, a $250 million joint investment with Ottawa for semiconductor projects in 2023, and $59.9 million for IBM Canada and the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre with Quebec in 2024. The country also has a non-governmental organization, Canada’s Semiconductor Council, which recommended the government take certain actions.
In 2023, semiconductors were a focus of the North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS). The U.S., Canada, and Mexico organized a trilateral semiconductor forum with industry to adapt government policies and increase investment in supply chains, map minerals, develop workforce, and boost student mobility.
Mexico, Central, and South America
Multiple Mexican government agencies agreed to promote the development of the semiconductor industry in June 2024. This followed an announcement in March 2024 that the U.S. Department of State will partner with the Government of Mexico to explore opportunities to grow and diversify the global semiconductor ecosystem under the $500 million International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, created by the U.S. CHIPS Act in 2022. The same year, Arizona State University and Mexico partnered to create an alliance of universities and microelectronics manufacturers in the U.S. and Mexico to train workers and build production capacity in the northwest border states.
The state of Jalisco is known as the Silicon Valley of Mexico, and the country’s role in the semiconductor supply chain looks set to keep growing, per Co-Production International. In July 2024, QSM announced it is building the country’s first fab, but government support was not mentioned.
Activity is picking up across Central America and South America though it would take a significant effort to bring these regions up to par with Asia and other global hotspots.
The U.S. Department of State and the Inter-American Development Bank unveiled the CHIPS ITSI Western Hemisphere Semiconductor Initiative, supported through the CHIPS Act International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, to enhance semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging capabilities in partner countries, beginning with Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. Another avenue for regional collaboration is the Americas Partnership Semiconductor Symposium. In September 2024, Brazil announced a major industrial digitalization initiative including the Brazil Semicon Act.
Below are tables showing select government programs and recipients announced in 2024 in the U.S. with some items from Canada or Brazil. This is the second in a series of articles on government investments. Articles focused on Europe and Asia will follow.
Select government funding programs announced in 2024 in the USA, Canada, and Brazil:
| Location | Program | Investment | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil (Sep 24) |
Industrial digitalization | BRL 7B annually, totaling BRL 21B by 2026 (~US $3.6B) for semiconductors. Plus more for other technologies (robots, fiber optics, cloud computing and more). | R&D in chip and electronics supply chains, with applications for solar panels, smartphones, personal computers and other Industry 4.0-related devices. |
| Canada (Jul 24) |
CMC Microsystems, ISED Canada | CAD $120M over 5 years from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) Canada’s ISED’s Strategic Innovation Fund | The FABrIC initiative supports businesses, engineers, scientists; help develop Made-in-Canada semi-based IoT products in clean tech, EVs, AI; resources for new manufacturing processes |
| USA (Sep 24) |
Microelectronics Commons | $269M CHIPS Act funding for 33 technical projects and workforce development | Quantum, secure edge computing, 5G/6G electromagnetic warfare, commercial leap-ahead, AI, and a Cross-Hub Enablement Solution |
| USA (Jan 24) |
NSF Regional Innovation Engines | $1.6B over 10 years | Includes the Central Florida Semiconductor Innovation Engine |
| USA (Feb 24) |
The National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) | NSTC, R&D, workforce development gets about $5B of total $11B for R&D under the CHIPS Act | Support govt., industry, labor, customers, suppliers, academia, entrepreneurs, investors to speed up innovations |
| USA (Jul 24) |
NSTC R&D facilites | Funded by the CHIPS Act | 3 facilities; NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility; NSTC Administrative and Design Facility; NSTC EUV Center |
| USA (Jul 24) |
Manufacturing USA institute | $70M over 5 years subject to federal availability | Focused on the use of AI to increase resilience of U.S. manufacturers |
| USA (Apr 24) |
CHIPS Metrology Program | About $54M | Currently supporting over 30 projects on measurement services, tools, and instrumentation; innovative manufacturing metrologies; novel assurance and provenance technologies and advanced metrology R&D |
| USA (Jul 24) |
Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants | $65M from the Dept. Of Labor | Equitably support students in obtaining good jobs in in-demand industries, including advanced manufacturing |
| USA (May 24) |
CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute | $285M | Seeking proposals to establish an institute focused on digital twins |
| USA (May 24) |
Small Business Innovation Research | $1.2M | R&D of cybersecurity, quantum computing, health care, semi manufacturing |
| USA (May and (Oct 24) |
Competition for advanced packaging R&D | Up to $1.6B total across 5 R&D areas; about $10M-$150M per award in each area | R&D areas outlined in the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) Funding competition opened Oct 24. |
| USA (Jul 24) |
Registered Apprenticeship Grants and Awards | $39M in grants to 46 states; $244M awards through two grant programs | Increase the capacity of RA programs across key industries; modernize, diversify, expand the RA system |
| USA (Jul 24) |
Tech Hubs | $504M for 12 hubs, follows 31 hubs in Oct 23 | Hubs cover semi manufacturing, AI, quantum, batteries, etc. |
| USA (Sep 24) |
CHIPS Metrology Program Small Business Innovation Research | $5M to 17 small businesses across 9 states under the SBIR program; the first award for the CHIPS Research and Development Office | Develop a viable product or service for introduction in the commercial microelectronics marketplace |
| USA (Sep 24) |
NSF Future of Semiconductors (FuSe2) competition | $42.4M for 23 cutting-edge research projects across 15 states and 20 institutions | In partnership with Ericsson, Intel, Micron, Samsung, grants to fuel research and education across semiconductor technologies |
| USA (Sep 24) |
NSTC Workforce Center of Excellence | $250M, including an expected $11.5 million for the first workforce development awardees | The WCoE will bring together stakeholders from across the private sector, government, non-profits, training providers, community and technical colleges, universities, and labor organizations to help solve workforce challenges |
| USA (Oct 24) |
Equipment for Defense-Related Research | $43M from the DoD to 112 university researchers under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) | Accelerate research in DoD priority areas as quantum computing, photonics, human performance, autonomy, and the design, development, and characterization of novel materials |
| USA (Oct 24) |
R&D and AI for Sustainable Semi Materials | $100M under the CHIPS Act | Open competition to demonstrate how AI can assist in developing new sustainable semiconductor materials and processes that meet industry needs and can be designed and adopted within 5 years |
| USA (Oct 24) |
Network Coordination Hub | $30M | Run the hub, manage the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME) and lead its national strategy to train skilled workers in the U.S. semiconductor and microelectronics industry |
Select recipients of government funding in 2024 in the USA and Canada:
| Location | Company/date | Investment | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona (Jul 24) |
Amkor | Up to $400M CHIPS Act funding; access to $200M in loans; up to 25% tax credit | Govt. funding to go towards the company’s $2B investment in OSAT; 55 acres with 500,000 sq-ft clean room space |
| Arizona (Feb 24) |
Arizona State University | $13.8M under the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, created by the CHIPS Act | Bolster assembly, testing, packaging capabilities in ITSI partner countries in the Americas and Indo-Pacific for a resilient supply chain |
| Arizona (Mar 24) |
Arizona State University, Deca | Some funding under the CHIPS Act as part of the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub of the DoD’s Microelectronics Commons | Fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) R&D center |
| Arizona (Apr 24) |
TSMC | $6.6B CHIPS Act funding to support TSMC’s investment of over $65B | 2nm technology at its second fab and a new third fab to produce 2nm or more advanced chips |
| Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon (Mar 24) |
Intel | Up to $8.5B CHIPS Act funding plus tax credits up to 25% on over $100B in qualified investments; federal loans up to $11B | Critical semiconductor manufacturing, R&D |
| California, New York (Oct 24) |
TTM Technologies | $30M from the DoD facilitated through the Defense Production Act Purchases (DPAP) office | Acquire, install advanced manufacturing equipment and develop prototype designs for printed circuit boards |
| Canada (Jul 24) |
CMC Microsystems, ISED Canada | CAD $120M over 5 years from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) Canada’s ISED’s Strategic Innovation Fund | The FABrIC initiative supports businesses, engineers, scientists; help develop Made-in-Canada semi-based IoT products in clean tech, EVs, AI; resources for new manufacturing processes |
| Canada: Quebec (Apr 24) |
IBM, MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre | $59.9M through Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund; support from Quebec govt. | Add manufacturing capabilities to IBM Canada’s semi packaging facility in Bromont; support quantum research |
| Colorado (Jun 24) |
Entegris | Up to $75M CHIPS Act funding | Support domestic production of FOUPs, liquid filter membranes, advanced liquid filters and purifiers, fluid handling solutions |
| Colorado, Oregon (Jan 24) |
Microchip | $162M CHIPS Act funding; $90M to modernize, expand fab in Colorado Springs; $72M to expand fab in Gresham, Ore. | MCUs and other specialty semiconductors on mature-nodes for auto, commercial, industrial, defense, aerospace |
| Florida (Jan 24) |
Micross Components, Osceola County govt. | $49M via the DoD’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program; follows a $134.3M DoD contract in Nov 23 | Revitalize advanced packaging capabilities and capacity for defense applications |
| Florida (Jan 24) |
SkyWater Florida, Deca | $120M U.S. Dept. Of Defense award; option for $70M more | Advanced packaging for govt., commercial in Kissimmee, Fla. |
| Florida (Jul 24) |
Rogue Valley Microdevices | $6.7M CHIPS Act funding | Triple capacity to support a reliable, domestic supply of MEMS on 300mm for U.S. defense industrial, biomedical |
| Georgia (May 24) |
Absolics | $75M CHIPS Act funding | Majority owned by SK Group; build a 120,000 sq-ft facility in Covington, Ga. to develop glass substrates for advanced packaging |
| Idaho, New York (Apr 24) |
Micron | $6.1B CHIPS Act funding; potential total investment up to $125B | Leading edge memory fab at existing R&D facility in Boise, Idaho; 2 new fabs in Clay, NY |
| Indiana (Aug 24) |
SK hynix | $450M in CHIPS Act funding; access to loans of $500M; tax benefit of up to 25% of qualified capital expenditures | Follows April announcement to build an advanced packaging production base in Indiana for $3.87B |
| Illinois (Jul 24) |
U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | DARPA, other agencies to provide federal funding; state of Illinois to coinvest up to $140M | Quantum Proving Ground to be hosted by the Grainger College of Engineering |
| Massachusetts, Northeastern states (Jan 24) |
MIT, Applied Materials, others | $9.2M from Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub, overseeing CHIPS ACT investments; $7.7M for MIT.Nano | $40M total public/private investment in MIT.Nano to add advanced nano-fabrication equipment, capabilities |
| Michigan (Oct 24) |
Hemlock Semiconductor | $325M CHIPS Act funding | New facility in Hemlock, Michigan for production and purification of hyper-pure semiconductor-grade polysilicon |
| Minnesota (May 24) |
Polar Semiconductor | Awarded up to $123M CHIPS Act funding in Sept 24; company to invest $525M; $75M from State of Minnesota; Niobrara Capital and Prysm Capital equity investment of $175M; federal tax credit up to 25% of qualified capital expenditures | Transform Polar from a majority foreign-owned in-house manufacturer to a majority U.S.-owned commercial foundry for 200mm wafers and more |
| New Hampshire (Dec 23) |
BAE | $35M CHIPS Act funding | Modernize mature-node production facility in Nashua, N.H., replace tools, quadruple production of chips for defense, F-35 fighter jets |
| New Hampshire (Sep 24) |
Sivers Semiconductors | $6M from the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub through the CHIPS Act under the Microelectronics Commons program, executed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) | Lead the 5G/6G Technology Program, focusing on beamformer IC and array design for FR3 frequencies (7-15 GHz) |
| New Mexico (Jun 24) |
Rocket Lab | $23.9M CHIPS Act funding | Boost production of compound semis for spacecraft, satellites; expand, modernize its facility in Albuquerque, N.M. |
| New York, Vermont (Feb 24) |
GlobalFoundries | Up to $1.5B CHIPS Act funding plus $600M from N.Y. State over 10 years | Fabs for essential chips; expand existing Malta, NY, fab; new fab on same site; modernize 200mm fab in Essex Junction, Vt. |
| New York (Sep 24) |
NY CREATES | $4.7M from NSF | Help establish the Education Alliance for Semiconductor Experiential Learning (EASEL) program |
| New York (Oct 24) |
Edwards Vacuum | Up to $18M CHIPS Act funding | Greenfield manufacturing facility for dry vacuum pumps to be produced in the U.S. for the first time |
| New York (Oct 24) |
Wolfspeed | $750M CHIPS Act funding; $750M from investment group led by Apollo, Baupost, Fidelity, Capital; expects to receive about $1B in Section 48D cash tax refunds from IRS over the next several years | Boost domestic production of SiC to power clean energy systems for EVs, AI, data centers, battery storage, more |
| North Carolina, New York (Oct 24) | Infinera | Up to $93M CHIPS Act funding | Expand production, packaging of semis for critical U.S. infrastructure, AI by a factor of 10 |
| Oregon (Jun 24) |
Analog Devices, Lam, Siltronic | Total $36.2M Oregon CHIPS Act funding | Support expansion, modernization of semi manufacturing and research at these companies |
| Oregon (Aug 24) |
HP | Up to $50M CHIPS Act funding | Expand, modernize lab-to-fab ecosystem for life sciences instrumentation, AI hardware |
| Texas (Apr 24) |
Samsung | $6.4B CHIPS Act funding; Samsung expected to invest $40B in coming years | 2 logic fabs, R&D fab, advanced packaging facility in Taylor; expansion to existing Austin facility |
| Texas (Apr 24) |
UT Austin | $840M from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | UT’s Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) to build a DoD Microelectronics Manufacturing Center for next-gen semis enabled by 3D heterogeneous integration |
| Texas (Aug 24) |
Dell Federal Systems | $109,911,637 ceiling, firm-fixed price blank purchase agreement from the Dept. of Defense | Hardware to support Enterprise Logging Extra and Small Form Factor efforts on Air Force Bases |
| Texas, Missouri (Jul 24) |
GlobalWafers | $400M CHIPS Act funding to support total capital expenditures of about $4B | Build 300mm Si fab, convert part of Si epitaxy fab to produce 150mm, 200mm SiC epitaxy wafers in Sherman, Texas; build 300mm SOI fab in St. Peters, Mo. |
| Texas, Utah (Aug 24) |
Texas Instruments | $1.6B CHIPS Act funding; $6B to $8B tax credit for qualified U.S. manufacturing investments; $10M for workforce development | Funding to support TI’s investment of over $18B through 2030; two fabs in Sherman, TX; one in Lehi, UT; 300mm for analog, embedded processing |
| Various, U.S. (Sep 24) |
Intel | Up to $3B CHIPS Act funding for Secure Enclave | Leading-edge semiconductors for the U.S. government |
Related Reading
Government Chip Funding Spreads Globally
Nations vie for a piece of the semiconductor pie with offers of cash, subsidies, tax breaks, and other approaches.
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