HP, Texas Instruments Get CHIPS Funding
Texas Instruments and HP are the latest recipients of CHIPS and Science Act funds meant to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing (Bloomberg and Reuters, subscription).
What’s going on: Texas Instruments will receive $1.6 billion in grants and $3 billion in loans under the 2022 legislation (Bloomberg), while HP will get $50 million in grants (Reuters), the Biden administration announced last month.
- All the awards are pending finalization, and amounts could still change following due diligence by the Commerce Department.
Where it will go: The money will go to different undertakings at each company.
- At Texas Instruments, it “will help pay for one factory in Utah and two in Texas—projects that will cost about $18 billion through 2029—the Commerce Department said in a statement. The effort is expected to generate around 2,000 manufacturing jobs and thousands more in construction,” according to Bloomberg.
- The funding proposed for HP will go toward “projects that build on HP’s expertise in microfluidics and microelectromechanical systems with funding set to support manufacturing of silicon devices critical in life sciences lab equipment used in drug discovery, single-cell research and cell line development,” Reuters reports.
- The HP work is expected to create nearly 150 construction jobs and more than 100 manufacturing positions (MarketWatch).
Why it’s important: Most of the funds from the CHIPS and Science Act “is slated to support production of cutting-edge chips by companies such as Intel Corp. … But the law set aside a minimum of $2 billion for less advanced semiconductors—sometimes called legacy chips—like those produced by Texas Instruments. … Legacy chips are essential to the global economy, powering everything from smartphones to refrigerators to weapons systems. And it’s an area where China is increasing its ambitions,” according to Bloomberg.
- The majority of the measure’s funding has now been announced through more than a dozen proposed awards. Announcements are set to be wrapped up by the end of 2024.