Biden administration to support semiconductor companies with billions of dollars

The administration of US President Joe Biden intends to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to major semiconductor companies.

The upcoming announcements aim to begin manufacturing advanced semiconductors that power smartphones, artificial intelligence and weapons systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing industry executives familiar with the negotiations.

The report added that executives expect some announcements to be made before US President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7.

The newspaper said that among the potential beneficiaries of the subsidies is Intel, which has projects underway in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon that will cost more than $43.5 billion.

Another potential beneficiary is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which has two factories under construction near Phoenix with a total investment of $40 billion.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, also a competitor, has a $17.3 billion project in Texas.

Micron Technology, Texas Instruments and GlobalFoundries are among other top contenders, the Wall Street Journal said, citing industry executives.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she would offer about a dozen funding awards for semiconductor chips over the next year, including multibillion-dollar announcements that could radically reshape American chip production.