The Biden administration has announced a $5 billion investment in the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), which is a public-private consortium to support research and development of advanced semiconductor chipsets in the United States, in addition to other initiatives dedicated to semiconductor research and development.
The investment is, as you may have already guessed, part of the CHIPS and Science Act, where the U.S. government is spending tens of billions of dollars worth of grants to push companies all over the world to manufacture chips domestically.
The NSTC will bring together government, industry, labor, customers, suppliers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors to accelerate the pace of innovations, lower barriers to participation in semiconductor R&D, and directly address fundamental needs for a skilled, diverse semiconductor workforce. The center will help to fund the design and prototyping of new chips, in addition to training workers for the sector, as there's also a huge requirement for a skilled workforce in the semiconductor domain.
Deirdre Hanford, CEO of the NSTC, said to Bloomberg that the center is finding ways to "make it easier for people to get into chip design in this country, rather than developing yet another app or yet another piece of AI software."
Apart from the $5 billion dedicated to the NSTC, the Commerce Department has also allocated money for other semiconductor-research-related initiatives. This includes $3 billion dedicated to the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, $200 million for Chips Manufacturing USA Institute, $109 million for the Chips Metrology Program, and $2.7 billion of remaining funds left to be allocated at a later stage in similar initiatives.
The administration expects these investments to advance President Biden’s goals of driving R&D in the United States, cutting down on the time and cost of commercializing new technologies, bolstering U.S. national security, and connecting and supporting workers in securing good semiconductor jobs.
The investment is separate from the other $39 billion for production incentives for companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung, and Intel for domestic production of semiconductor chipsets and building new fabrication units in the country.
Via Bloomberg (paywall)
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