The US government announced on Friday that it has signed a preliminary agreement with semiconductor maker Texas Instruments to give the company up to $1.6 billion to help finance new facilities in the country.
The proposed direct funding falls under the CHIPS and Science Act, a stimulus package passed by Congress in 2022 to boost US semiconductor research and manufacturing.
The money will boost TI’s planned investment of more than $18 billion by the end of the decade to build three new facilities, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Two of those will be in Texas and one in Utah and are expected to create more than 2,000 jobs in the industry, the department added.
The United States is seeking to reduce reliance on China for older-generation semiconductors amid national security concerns and as competition with Beijing intensifies.
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“During the pandemic, shortages in current-generation and mature hub brands have fueled inflation and made our country less safe,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
And Texas Instruments specializes in making such chips, which go into almost all electronic systems.
The company’s planned projects “will substantially support the growing needs for economic and national security applications,” the Commerce Department added.
The three new facilities are set to significantly boost the company’s domestic core chip production capacity.
Texas Instruments CEO Haviv Ilan said the company plans to increase its domestic production to more than 95 percent by 2030, saying it is “building geopolitically credible” capacity at scale.
The latest preliminary memorandum of terms also includes $10 million in proposed financing to help grow the semiconductor and manufacturing company’s workforce, the Commerce Department said.
Source: AFP