The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that the Department of Commerce and a North Carolina nonprofit are entering talks on a $285 million deal to create a new institute to bolster the U.S. semiconductor industry.
The talks between the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Durham-based Semiconductor Research Corp. could lead to what officials are calling the SMART USA institute.
Officials say the effort will “develop, validate, and use digital twins to improve domestic semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes.”
Digital twins refers to virtual models of a product that engineers can use throughout the design process, perhaps allowing them to bring AI to bear on the work.
The Semiconductor Research Corp., or SRC, has been around since 1982. Through 2023, it has channeled about $1.8 billion into fellowships, grants and contract research to support the chip industry. More than 20 premier semiconductor companies are members of SRC, partnering with more than 100 universities and multiple government agencies
Its CEO is Todd Younkin, a Caltech-trained chemist and former Intel researcher. Intel, IBM, Qualcomm and Siemens are among SRC’s many industry partners, while Duke and NC State University are on its roster of more than 100 participating universities and government agencies.
Presuming the talks between Commerce and SRC pay off, the new institute would yield similar relationships with about 150 industry and academic groups, 10 national labs, five economic development agencies and various other participants.
The goal, Commerce officials said, is to drive a 35% reduction in chip development and manufacturing costs and a 30% reduction in development-cycle times.
Money for the initiative is coming from the CHIPS Act, and the Biden administration is pushing to spend CHIPS before the Trump administration takes over on Jan. 20.
President-elect Trump has signaled hostility to the legislation, though federal legislators and other observers believe it has enough bipartisan support to survive.
The bill is an attempt to incentive the re-shoring of the chip industry, in lieu of continued dependence on factories in China and Taiwan.
