The US government said yesterday that it has finalized a grant with chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc to support its semiconductor manufacturing investments, as US President Joe Biden works to secure parts of his legacy before Donald Trump’s White House return.
The binding contract provides up to US$1.5 billion in direct funding and comes under the CHIPS and Science Act, a suite of incentives to boost research and US semiconductor production.
The US produces just about 10 percent of the global supply of chips, relying on East Asia for 75 percent of world production, the White House noted in 2022.
Photo: Cindy Schultz, Bloomberg
"By investing in GF’s domestic manufacturing capabilities, we are helping to secure a stable domestic supply of chips that are found in everything from home electronics to advanced weapons systems," US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.
The finalized award comes after a preliminary agreement announced in February, and means that funds can begin flowing when milestones are reached.
The Biden administration has unveiled billions in grants through the CHIPS Act but much of the funds have not been disbursed.
Officials have since been working to get deals across the finish line.
The latest announcement comes about two months before US president-elect Trump, who has previously criticized the CHIPS Act, takes office.
The award is aimed at supporting broader investment of around US$13 billion by GlobalFoundries (GF) over the next 10 years or so, in its manufacturing sites in New York and Vermont, the commerce department said.
This will improve US "competitiveness in current-generation semiconductor production," the department added.
The sites produce semiconductor tech in key areas like automotive, aerospace and defense, as well as communications.
There are currently just four companies outside China that provide "current and mature foundry capabilities at the scale of GF," the department said.
GF is the only one of these firms headquartered in the US.
"We are strategically strengthening every part of the semiconductor supply chain to ensure we meet our national security objectives and have the ability to out-compete and out-innovate the rest of the world," Raimondo added in a statement.
The aim is to boost economic and national security by increasing domestic manufacturing capacity and bringing back technologies key to US defense and intelligence communities.
The company’s investment is estimated to generate about 1,000 manufacturing jobs across both sites.
Last week, US officials finalized a grant to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) as well, for up to US$6.6 billion in direct funding to help build facilities on American soil.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
RSS