• U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced plans to unveil multiple funding awards in the next two months as part of the $39 billion initiative to boost semiconductor manufacturing.
  • The initiative aims to subsidize chip production and supply chain investments, supporting the construction and expansion of advanced facilities.
  • Raimondo highlighted the groundbreaking nature of these facilities, emphasizing their complexity and comparing them to investments by major companies like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel in the United States.

On Monday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo revealed that her department is set to announce several funding awards within the next two months as part of the government’s $39 billion initiative aimed at bolstering semiconductor manufacturing. In an interview with Reuters, Raimondo acknowledged the complexity of negotiations with various companies, without disclosing their identities. She stated, ‘In the next six to eight weeks, you will see several more announcements. That’s what we’re striving for.’

Also read: US Semiconductor Industry Can Expect Massive Talent Shortage by 2030

‘Highly complex, first-of-their-kind facilities’

The semiconductor fund is designed to provide subsidies for chip production and related supply chain investments, facilitating the construction of factories and the expansion of production capacities. Raimondo emphasised the groundbreaking nature of the facilities being considered, comparing them to the advanced investments proposed by companies like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel in the United States. She described these as ‘highly complex, first-of-their-kind facilities’ with unprecedented size, scale, and complexity.

In December, Raimondo had previously mentioned her anticipation of making approximately a dozen semiconductor funding awards within the next year, including announcements involving multi-billion-dollar investments. Raimondo highlighted her personal involvement in regular discussions with CEOs of chip companies.

There are two awards already granted

The Commerce Department has already granted two small awards from the “Chips for America” semiconductor manufacturing and research subsidy program, which was approved by Congress in August 2022. Despite the limited number of awards made so far, Raimondo expressed confidence that the government is not lagging behind in the award-making process.