SEMI was honored to welcome U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, Dr. Laurie E. Locascio, to the CEO Summit keynote stage at SEMICON West 2024 on Tuesday, July 9. Locascio, who also serves as the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), delivered her morning CHIPS Act Update keynote address to a packed room of over 1,000 attendees at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
During her address, Locascio emphasized how far the U.S. chip industry has progressed since 2021.
“Prior to 2022 and the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. produced 0% of the world's leading edge chips,” she said. “But now, after these proposed investments, we've changed the global landscape.”
Industry Shifts from the CHIPS and Science Act
Due to long delays and price increases resulting from supply chain vulnerabilities, Locascio shared that Congress began developing the CHIPS and Science Act with two key goals in mind. The first, she said, was to protect economic security, and the second, was to lower costs for American taxpayers.
As part of the CHIPS and Science Act, CHIPS for America was established to advance semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. CHIPS for America encompasses two offices: The CHIPS Research and Development Office, as well as the CHIPS Program Office - both of which are responsible for implementing CHIPS and Science Act law.
CHIPS for America, said Locascio, couldn’t be another procurement program. Instead, it needed to be a purpose-driven approach to build domestic manufacturing capacity.
Locascio highlighted that CHIPS for America galvanized several experts from the federal government, R&D, and other core areas to work together to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry and increase capacity. To achieve this, Locascio pointed to CHIPS for America’s $30 billion in proposed direct funding and $25 billion in proposed direct loans.
Locascio also noted diversity of technology as being essential for the American chip industry, citing how Intel, Micron, TSMC, and Samsung have recently expanded in the U.S., with SK Hynix planning to build a fab and R&D facility in Indiana. No other economy in the world, she said, has more than two of these companies producing leading edge chips on its shores.
“The total public and private investment from our four, leading-edge companies will equal roughly $300 billion between now and the end of the decade, far and away the most investment in new production in the history of the U.S. semiconductor industry,” said Locascio.
Industry Investments on the Horizon
To further aid these efforts, Locascio mentioned CHIPS for America’s notice of intent to invest $1.6 billion in an open competition to accelerate advanced packaging domestically and encourage innovation. Funding will be directed toward five key R&D areas, including equipment tools, power delivery, connector technology, chiplets, and Electronic Design Automation (EDA), she said.
Additionally, Locascio shared that CHIPS for America recently announced its first preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to support the upstream supply chain, and shared plans to announce several more PMTs in the future.
Lastly, Locascio revealed that CHIPS for America plans to release a model and process for bringing new facilities to life, in partnership with the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). NSTC members, she said, will gain access to partnership funds and state-of-the-art facilities to support the U.S. semiconductor industry.
“Across all these efforts, from manufacturing incentives to research funding, to workforce development efforts, the U.S. must cultivate and build our competitive assets to protect and grow our technological leadership,” said Locascio.
In a podcast with Francoise von Trapp of 3D InCites recorded at SEMICON West, Locascio discussed her career background, CHIPS Act investments and the path forward for the semiconductor industry in the U.S. To learn more, check out the podcast interview with 3D InCites.
SEMI Global Advocacy
Discover how SEMI Global Advocacy & Public Policy supports the microelectronics industry across trade, taxes, talent, and R&D.
John Cooney is Vice President of Global Advocacy and Public Policy at SEMI.
