Latest news with #CHIPSforAmerica
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
GlobalWafers opens new US factory; plans additional $4 bln investment
By Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI: Taiwanese silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers said on Friday it would invest an additional $4 billion in the United States to meet growing customer demand there, as it officially opened its new $3.5 billion wafer facility in Texas. "Our U.S. customers appear to have a very strong demand for U.S.-based production capacity," Doris Hsu, Chairperson of GlobalWafers, a TSMC supplier, told reporters. "Although tariffs (on semiconductors) have not been finalized...(U.S.) customers are hoping to secure local supply to reduce the potential uncertainties that tariffs may bring." The plant, GlobalWafers' most advanced fully integrated 300mm (12 inch) silicon wafer facility, is the first of its kind built in the U.S. in more than two decades and is currently the only advanced wafer manufacturing site in the country. Silicon wafers are critical components in chip manufacturing and larger wafers are widely used in advanced chip production as they allow for more chips to be produced per each wafer, increasing cost savings. At the opening ceremony held in Sherman, Texas, on Thursday, the company said it intends to add two more phases to the site to boost production capacity. It currently has one phase completed for production and a second phase is planned for construction in the 142-acre campus that is designed to accommodate up to six phases. Hsu said there is no set timeline for the additional two phases, but several conditions must be met before moving forward. "Phases one and two must be profitable, and we need to secure customers... who show strong interest in local production and are willing to sign long-term contracts," Hsu said. "We also need reasonable pricing, prepayments, and government support. If these conditions are met, we'll move ahead." The plant is part of the Biden administration-era CHIPS for America program and the company is set to receive $406 million in U.S. government grants for its projects in Texas and Missouri. Hsu said it has not yet received the U.S. funding but has reached key milestones and submitted the required documentation. Hsu expected the funds to be disbursed in the first half of this year. Reuters reported in February the Trump administration is seeking to renegotiate U.S. CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signalled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the CHIPS Act and said in March U.S. lawmakers should get rid of it and instead use the proceeds to pay debt.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GlobalWafers opens new US factory; plans additional $4 billion investment
By Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwanese silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers said on Friday it would invest an additional $4 billion in the United States to meet growing customer demand there, as it officially opened its new $3.5 billion wafer facility in Texas. "Our U.S. customers appear to have a very strong demand for U.S.-based production capacity,' Doris Hsu, Chairperson of GlobalWafers, a TSMC supplier, told reporters. "Although tariffs (on semiconductors) have not been finalized…(U.S.) customers are hoping to secure local supply to reduce the potential uncertainties that tariffs may bring." The plant, GlobalWafers' most advanced fully integrated 300mm (12 inch) silicon wafer facility, is the first of its kind built in the U.S. in more than two decades and is currently the only advanced wafer manufacturing site in the country. Silicon wafers are critical components in chip manufacturing and larger wafers are widely used in advanced chip production as they allow for more chips to be produced per each wafer, increasing cost savings. At the opening ceremony held in Sherman, Texas, on Thursday, the company said it intends to add two more phases to the site to boost production capacity. It currently has one phase completed for production and a second phase is planned for construction in the 142-acre campus that is designed to accommodate up to six phases. Hsu said there is no set timeline for the additional two phases, but several conditions must be met before moving forward. 'Phases one and two must be profitable, and we need to secure customers... who show strong interest in local production and are willing to sign long-term contracts,' Hsu said. 'We also need reasonable pricing, prepayments, and government support. If these conditions are met, we'll move ahead.' The plant is part of the Biden administration-era CHIPS for America program and the company is set to receive $406 million in U.S. government grants for its projects in Texas and Missouri. Hsu said it has not yet received the U.S. funding but has reached key milestones and submitted the required documentation. Hsu expected the funds to be disbursed in the first half of this year. Reuters reported in February the Trump administration is seeking to renegotiate U.S. CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signalled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the CHIPS Act and said in March U.S. lawmakers should get rid of it and instead use the proceeds to pay debt.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GlobalWafers opens new US factory; plans additional $4 billion investment
By Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwanese silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers said on Friday it would invest an additional $4 billion in the United States to meet growing customer demand there, as it officially opened its new $3.5 billion wafer facility in Texas. "Our U.S. customers appear to have a very strong demand for U.S.-based production capacity,' Doris Hsu, Chairperson of GlobalWafers, a TSMC supplier, told reporters. "Although tariffs (on semiconductors) have not been finalized…(U.S.) customers are hoping to secure local supply to reduce the potential uncertainties that tariffs may bring." The plant, GlobalWafers' most advanced fully integrated 300mm (12 inch) silicon wafer facility, is the first of its kind built in the U.S. in more than two decades and is currently the only advanced wafer manufacturing site in the country. Silicon wafers are critical components in chip manufacturing and larger wafers are widely used in advanced chip production as they allow for more chips to be produced per each wafer, increasing cost savings. At the opening ceremony held in Sherman, Texas, on Thursday, the company said it intends to add two more phases to the site to boost production capacity. It currently has one phase completed for production and a second phase is planned for construction in the 142-acre campus that is designed to accommodate up to six phases. Hsu said there is no set timeline for the additional two phases, but several conditions must be met before moving forward. 'Phases one and two must be profitable, and we need to secure customers... who show strong interest in local production and are willing to sign long-term contracts,' Hsu said. 'We also need reasonable pricing, prepayments, and government support. If these conditions are met, we'll move ahead.' The plant is part of the Biden administration-era CHIPS for America program and the company is set to receive $406 million in U.S. government grants for its projects in Texas and Missouri. Hsu said it has not yet received the U.S. funding but has reached key milestones and submitted the required documentation. Hsu expected the funds to be disbursed in the first half of this year. Reuters reported in February the Trump administration is seeking to renegotiate U.S. CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signalled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the CHIPS Act and said in March U.S. lawmakers should get rid of it and instead use the proceeds to pay debt.
Wall Street Journal
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Calls for Getting Rid of Chips Act Funding
A 'CHIPS for America' lapel pin. (Melissa Lyttle/Bloomberg News) President Trump reiterated claims that the 2022 Chips Act is a bad deal, calling on Congress to get rid of funding from the law to reduce the deficit. 'Your Chips Act is a horrible, horrible thing,' he said to Democrats. The law had bipartisan support, so Trump's comments put many Republicans who pushed for the Chips Act in a potentially awkward position. Back in 2022, 17 Senate Republicans joined a nearly unanimous Democratic caucus in favor of the law. In the House, 24 Republicans backed the measure.
Technical.ly
27-02-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
National AI safety group and CHIPS for America at risk with latest Trump administration firings
The Trump administration's slash-and-burn approach to the federal workforce is intersecting with its interests in artificial intelligence, according to reports on a new round of firings. Several media outlets are reporting that hundreds of employees of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will lose their jobs. Axios, citing anonymous sources 'familiar with the matter,' reported that the Gaithersburg, Maryland-headquartered agency plans to fire or lay off almost 500 people who were hired in the past couple of years and so were still under what's called 'probationary' status. The layoffs reportedly include many of the staffers behind the US AI Safety Institute (AISI), which NIST created about a year ago to further the AI safety and security goals in then-President Joe Biden's AI executive order. The termination headcount also reportedly includes much of the staff working on the agency's CHIPS for America initiative, an offshoot from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act that used a $50 billion allocation to promote and incentivize domestic semiconductor development. The 497 employees Axios reported NIST will cut include two-thirds of CHIPS staffers working on research and development, and more than half (57%) of workers focused on incentives for semiconductor infrastructure. Anonymous sources told Bloomberg News some employees already received verbal notices about the cuts. The outlet also reported that some of these sources said decisions have yet to be made. Before he won the election, President Trump criticized the CHIPS and Science Act on Joe Rogan's popular podcast. 'The chips deal is so bad,' he said, mischaracterizing how tariffs work to suggest the US should not back domestic production of semiconductors but instead encourage foreign manufacturing. After his inauguration, he put out his own AI-focused executive order and announced the Stargate initiative to develop AI infrastructure alongside private industry partners OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. NIST's mission is to promote economic competitiveness and security through research, scientific standards development related advisory work. Per this mandate, the lab established a multisector consortium within AISI to help develop and execute guidance on responsible artificial intelligence use. The AI safety group had been continuing its work despite Trump's executive order, according to CTO Andrew Gamino-Cheong of consortium member Trustible, who said that at the time, Trump's AI policies actually weren't that much different than his predecessor's. 'There's some continuity there, but this is a lot of window dressing in order to try and send a message,' Gamino-Cheong told in January. Now things may have changed, with the potential elimination of federal personnel focused specifically on the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence. NIST is a part of the federal Department of Commerce, whose recently confirmed secretary Howard Lutnick is facing Democratic politicians' demands for clarity on the alleged layoffs. NIST spokespeople and others associated with the consortium did not immediately return a request for confirmation on the alleged cuts.
