Semiconductors, or chips, are tiny electronic devices that are integral to America’s economic and national security. These devices power tools as simple as a light switch and as complex as a fighter jet or a smartphone. Semiconductors power our consumer electronics, automobiles, data centers, critical infrastructure, and virtually all military systems. They are also essential building blocks of the technologies that will shape our future, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and clean energy.
Yet, while the United States remains a global leader in semiconductor design and research and development, it has fallen behind in manufacturing and now accounts for only about 10 percent of global commercial production. Today, none of the most advanced logic and memory chips—the chips that power PCs, smartphones, and supercomputers—are manufactured at commercial scale in the United States. In addition, many elements of the semiconductor supply chain are geographically concentrated, leaving them vulnerable to disruption and endangering the global economy and U.S. national security. We saw the impacts of relying too much on supply chains from elsewhere during the pandemic, and President Biden is charting a new course where we make more chips in America and lead the world in innovation and new manufacturing again.
That’s why President Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 into law. The law provides the Department of Commerce with $50 billion for a suite of programs to strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing—while also investing in American workers. CHIPS for America encompasses two offices responsible for implementing the law: the CHIPS Research and Development Office is investing $11 billion into developing a robust domestic R&D ecosystem, while the CHIPS Program Office is dedicating $39 billion to provide incentives for investment in facilities and equipment in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Program Office has released its first funding opportunity, which seeks applications for projects for the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial facilities for the front- and back-end fabrication of leading-edge, current-generation, and mature-node semiconductors.
Later in 2023, the CHIPS Program Office will release separate funding opportunities for semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment facilities and for R&D facilities. These investments will be key to restoring U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, supporting good-paying jobs across the semiconductor supply chain, and advancing U.S. economic and national security.
For general inquiries about CHIPS for America, contact askchips [at] chips.gov.
For inquiries about the CHIPS Incentives Program, contact apply [at] chips.gov
To request a meeting with a CHIPS staff member or an appearance at an event, visit https://askchips.chips.gov.