The US government said leading-edge chipmaking firms were asking US$70 billion in subsidy under the CHIPS and Science Act, days after TSMC opened its Kumamoto fab, with attention shifting to the slow progress of TSMC's and Intel's fabs in the US. The US also confirmed its aim to produce 20% of the world's most advanced logic chips by 2030.
According to Bloomberg, Nikkei Asia, and the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said leading-edge chip firms, such as Intel and TSMC, are asking for over US$70 billion in grants under the US$52 billion CHIPS Act, which sets aside US$39 billion in grants in addition to loans and loan guarantees valued at US$75 billion to incentive advanced chipmaking projects in the US. Among the US$39 billion, the US government plans to spend US$28 billion on leading-edge facilities. It is reported that Intel is seeking US$10 billion in incentives, including grants and loans.
Raimondo said that the Commerce Department had received over 600 statements of interest (SOI) under the CHIPS Act, adding that they plan to prioritize smaller grants for smaller applicants and projects slated for completion by 2030 while considering multi-billion dollar awards for industry leaders.
Raimondo said that the US government aims to increase the US's share in leading-edge chipmaking from 0% to 20% by 2030. Raimondo said there's been a game-changer in the demand for leading-edge semiconductor chips, as generative AI is everywhere, and it takes tens of thousands of leading-edge chips to train a single large language model.
Still, Bloomberg quoted Raimondo saying proposals are undergoing due diligence, and the funds will be distributed based on the companies' meeting negotiated benchmarks. She also said giving money to a project that will come online 10-12 years from now is not responsible.
