Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday that Micron Technology, a memory chip manufacturer, is set to receive $6.1 billion in funding from the U.S. Commerce Department. This funding aims to support domestic chip plant projects, as reported by Reuters.
The CHIPS & Science law will aid chipmaking facilities in New York and Idaho, pending approval, Schumer mentioned in a statement.
He stated, “This monumental and historic federal investment will enable Micron to bring its transformative $100+ billion four-fab project in central New York to fruition, generating an estimated 50,000 jobs.”
Schumer also mentioned that Micron plans to build a complex of chip facilities in New York over the next 20 years.
As the U.S. seeks to boost its chip output and reduce reliance on China and Taiwan, this news follows several Chips Act awards announced by the Biden administration in recent weeks.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the U.S. portion of global semiconductor production capacity dropped from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020.
Lawmakers cautioned against relying solely on chips manufactured in Taiwan by TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, due to China’s territorial claims over the island.
Taiwan’s TSMC secured $6.6 billion in April to expand its U.S. manufacturing, while Intel received $8.5 billion in funding last month.
This week, Samsung was awarded $6.4 billion to boost production in Texas.
Under the landmark Chips Act, $52.6 billion is allocated for industry support.
Despite over $70 billion in requests, the Commerce Department plans to allocate $28 billion for government subsidies for advanced chip manufacturing. It also has the authority to lend $75 billion.
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York announced that Central New York will receive the largest private investment in American history.
