The US Department of Commerce has signed four separate non-binding preliminary memoranda of terms to award more than $246 million in CHIPS Act funding to four organizations.
Analog Devices, Coherent, Intelligent Epitaxy Technology, and Sumika Semiconductor Materials Texas are expected to be awarded $105 million, $79 million, $10.3 million, and $52.1 million, respectively.
According to the Department of Commerce, the funding will be used to support the expansion and modernization of two Analog Devices (ADI) manufacturing facilities in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, where the company has an R&D site and produces radio frequency and microwave systems.
ADI is also looking to expand and modernize two chip fabs in Beaverton, Oregon, and Camas, Washington, which could create up to an estimated 500 manufacturing and engineering jobs across all sites.
Similarly, Coherent also has plans to expand its existing manufacturing facility in Easton, Pennsylvania, creating approximately 360 jobs, whilst Intelligent Epitaxy Technology said it would use the proposed funding to support the expansion and modernization of its existing manufacturing facility in Allen, Texas.
Finally, the proposed investment in Sumika would support the construction of a greenfield factory in Baytown, Texas, to manufacture high-purity chemicals and could create more than 290 jobs.
Also this week, the Department of Commerce announced that the CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) has finalized $1.4 billion in funding to boost the development of advanced packaging technology in the US.
Of the total funding package, $300 million has been awarded to Absolics, Applied Materials, and Arizona State University to support advanced substrates and material research, with the remaining $1.1 billion awarded to Natcast to operate the advanced packaging capabilities of the CHIPS for America NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility (PPF).
“These CHIPS for America investments and CHIPS research and development flagship facilities will strengthen our end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem and help close the gap between invention and commercialization to ensure the United States is a global leader in semiconductor innovation and manufacturing,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
With Trump’s inauguration less than a week away, President Biden has approved a host of CHIPS Act funding agreements in recent weeks, as the program’s future looks uncertain under a second Donald Trump presidency.
In the run-up to the election, President-elect Trump, who takes office this month, criticized the CHIPS and Science Act, and said that the government should have levied tariffs on the semiconductor industry instead of handing out grants and loans to chip companies.