According to the latest news, US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo has proposed a new 52 billion US Dollar funding that will boost the government’s efforts for semiconductor production and research. It might eventually lead to seven to ten new chip factories across the country.
Reuters reported that the government official proposed the funding earlier this week in an event outside of Micron Tech’s chip factory. It seems the US Commerce Secretary believes that the government could generate a “150 billion US Dollar plus” investment in chip production and research.
Interestingly, the investment would include contributions from not only state and federal governments but also from private sectors. Raimondo said “We just need the federal money to unlock private capital. It could be seven, could be eight, could be nine, could be 10 new factories in America by the time we’re done.”
Raimondo believes that the different states will compete with each other for federal funding of chip facilities. She maintained that the Commerce Department would run a transparent process for awarding the funds.
Interestingly, this proposal from the Commerce Secretary arrived at such a crucial time when the world is facing a major shortage of semiconductors due to supply shortage. This has led various governments across the globe to scramble for chip supplies and invest locally. Mostly apart from the US, the European countries took such steps.
The chip shortage has squeezed several industries like automobiles, smartphones, home appliances, among others. Recently, US Senator Mark Warner also stated that he believed the funds could help build around “seven to 10” new plants. However, he also said, “This is not going to solve this overnight. It will take years for the Commerce Department to make these investments.”
