The U.S. Department of Commerce has set a conference call regarding implementing the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. The call is entitled 'Investing in Leading-Edge Technology,' which is self-explanatory, so expect it to focus on pouring money into the semiconductor industry and the production of advanced chips.
The commitment of the U.S. government to rejuvenate the semiconductor industry is evident from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which provided $39 billion in direct grants and another $75 billion in loans and loan guarantees to attract leading semiconductor companies to set up manufacturing operations in the U.S. The U.S. Commerce Department is in the process of allocating these funds to various applicants. It has already announced three awards to major industry players, including the American subsidiary of BAE Systems, GlobalFoundries, and Microchip Technology, which serve American companies that the government considers crucial for U.S. national security.
Meanwhile, none of the allocations have been invested in leading-edge fabs, such as those set to be built by Intel (which are set to produce chips on Intel 20A and Intel 18A process technologies in Arizona and Ohio, which belong to 2nm and 1.8nm nodes) as well as advanced fabs, such as those already built (at least on the shells level) by TSMC and Samsung in Arizona and Texas.
Meanwhile, based on a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the situation, the U.S. government is in talks to provide Intel with over $10 billion in subsidies under the CHIPS and Science Act. If confirmed, this would be the most prominent award package announced so far under the act, which aims to boost domestic semiconductor production. $10 billion is a lot of money to organize a news conference.
The expected financial support for Intel is likely to include loans and direct grants, with the distribution specifics still being negotiated, the report says. Neither Intel nor the U.S. Commerce Department has officially confirmed the $10 billion package. Intel has been in the running to receive substantial subsidies from the U.S. government for some time, so the company is more than likely to get quite some money.
