The Biden administration announced a $5 billion investment in 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, in which the US government spends grants worth tens of billions of dollars to push companies around the world to produce domestic chips.
The NSTC will bring together the government, industry, labor, customers, suppliers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs and investors to accelerate the pace of innovation, lower barriers to participation in semiconductor R&D, and provide a direct response to basic needs for a skilled and diverse semiconductor workforce. will help finance the design and prototyping of new chips, in addition to training workers for the sector, as there is also a huge demand for a skilled workforce in the semiconductor field.
Deirdre Hanford, executive director of the NSTC, told Bloomberg that the center is finding ways to “make it easier for people to get into chip design in this country, rather than developing another app or another piece of AI software.”
Besides the $5 billion dedicated to the NSTC, the Commerce Department has also allocated money to other initiatives related to semiconductor research. This includes $3 billion dedicated to the National Advanced Packaging Program, $200 million for the American Chip Manufacturing Institute, $109 million for the chip metrology program, and $2.7 billion in funds remaining to be allocated later on similar initiatives.
The administration expects these investments to advance President Biden’s goals of driving U.S. R&D, reducing the time and cost of commercializing new technologies, strengthening U.S. national security, and engaging and supporting workers in securing good semiconductor jobs.
The investment is separate from a $39 billion string of manufacturing incentives for companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung and Intel to domestically manufacture semiconductor chipsets and build new manufacturing units in the country.
Through Bloomberg (paywall)