The bill is a major milestone for the US semiconductor industry and provides $52 billion in funding as a well as a 25% subsidy for US fab building. A further $200 billion in funding is being discussed to support additional R&D.
Intel said that the passing of the Bill meant that it could go ahead with the ground-breaking on its Ohio fab site which it had postponed pending passage of the Act, while GlobalFoundries said that Congress had taken a major step in levelling the playing field for competitive semiconductor manufacturing in the US and that any funds it receives would be used to expand the company’s manufacturing, research and development at its existing sites.
Here in the UK Scott White, CEO at PragmatIC Semiconductor, welcomed the announcement and said that the CHIPS Act would help to incentivise and transform the US semiconductor industry.
So, what of the UK? As White said, with the right support the UK could once again become a global player in key sectors of semiconductor manufacturing, but we are still only inching towards a new strategy.
Where is the sense of urgency in the UK that drove the passing of the CHIPS Act?
