Micron Invests A Cool $40 Billion In US Memory Manufacturing Spurred By CHIPS Act
As the chip shortage continues and tensions between China and Tawian rise, industry leaders and US lawmakers are looking to expand US semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Taiwan is home to the world’s largest chip maker, TSMC, but the firm’s foundry could disappear virtually overnight if China invades Taiwan to force unification. This possibility presents a serious national security concern for the US, which relies heavily on computer chips manufactured by TSMC and other Taiwanese companies. This concern seems all the more serious in light of recent revelations that China’s own ability to manufacture cutting edge semiconductors appears to be further along than previously thought.
The reality is that the semiconductor manufacturing market is heavily subsidized by various governments, China and Taiwan foremost among them, and manufacturing firms build foundries where they have access to this money. US lawmakers have been working on a bill to offer similar subsidies in the hopes to attract investment in new domestic foundries. The resulting bill is known as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and was signed into law by President Biden today. The act will provide more than $52 billion in funding for research into semiconductors and other scientific endeavors, as well as roughly $24 billion in tax credits for new semiconductor manufacturing facilities.
The reality is that the semiconductor manufacturing market is heavily subsidized by various governments, China and Taiwan foremost among them, and manufacturing firms build foundries where they have access to this money. US lawmakers have been working on a bill to offer similar subsidies in the hopes to attract investment in new domestic foundries. The resulting bill is known as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and was signed into law by President Biden today. The act will provide more than $52 billion in funding for research into semiconductors and other scientific endeavors, as well as roughly $24 billion in tax credits for new semiconductor manufacturing facilities.
Micron projects that its investment will end up creating 40,000 new domestic jobs, approximately 5,000 of which will be highly paid technical and operational positions. Sanjay Mehrota, President and CEO of Micron, who was present for Biden’s signing of the CHIPS and Science Act, stated, “This legislation will enable Micron to grow domestic production of memory from less than 2% to up to 10% of the global market in the next decade, making the U.S. home to the most advanced memory manufacturing and R&D in the world.”
In addition to Micron’s announcement of its investment in US memory manufacturing, Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries also announced a new partnership today. GlobalFoundries is set to expand its New York facility so that Qualcomm can manufacture chips there, marking a $4.2 billion investment in US semiconductor manufacturing by the two companies.
Top Image Credit: Micron
