The US Department of Commerce yesterday said it plans to award US$50 million to HP Inc to support the expansion and modernization of an existing company facility in Oregon that would boost key semiconductor technologies.
The proposed funding would support technologies that serve life sciences instrumentation and technology hardware used in artificial intelligence applications and other projects, the department said.
The US Congress in August 2022 approved a US$39 billion subsidy program for US semiconductor manufacturing and related components, along with US$75 billion in government lending authority and a 25 percent investment tax credit worth an estimated US$24 billion.
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The projects build on HP’s expertise in microfluidics and microelectromechanical systems, with funding set to support manufacturing of silicon devices critical in life sciences lab equipment used in drug discovery, singlecell research and cell line development.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the proposed US$50 million funding for the Corvallis, Oregon, HP campus “shows how we are investing in every part of the semiconductor supply chain and how important semiconductor technology is to innovation in drug discovery and critical life science equipment.”
The technology would boost partner institutions, including Harvard Medical School, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Merck Group, the department said.
The department has announced term sheets with 17 firms offering more than US$32 billion in grants and up to US$29 billion in loans.
It also made other major planned awards, including US$6.4 billion to South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co to expand chip production in Texas.
Intel Corp won US$8.5 billion in grants in March, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) clinched US$6.6 billion to build out its US production and memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc won US$6.1 billion to help fund domestic chip factory projects.
All the awards have yet to be finalized and amounts could change after the department conducts due diligence.
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