Dive Brief:
- The White House is launching its second flagship CHIPS research and development facility in Sunnyvale, California, the Commerce Department announced last Friday.
- The Silicon Valley location, which is expected to open next year, will be a design and collaboration facility operating under the National Semiconductor Technology Center.
- The facility is expected to drive more than $1 billion in research funding and create more than 200 jobs over the next 10 years, according to the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
Dive Insight:
The Sunnyvale design hub will conduct advanced semiconductor research in chip design, electronic design automation, architecture and security. It will also host workforce and investment programs and serve as a collaborative space for NSTC members and stakeholders.
“We are thrilled that the Department of Commerce and Natcast chose to locate this critically important facility in Sunnyvale, the heart of the Silicon Valley, alongside the world’s largest concentration of semiconductor businesses, talent, intellectual property and investment activity,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior economic advisor to Gov. Newsom, in the governor’s press release.
Further details on selecting affiliated technical centers and additional R&D facilities will be shared later, according to the Natcast announcement.
The R&D facilities model aims to complement CHIPS Act-funded fabrication sites by aiding the transition of new innovations to domestic fabs, due to improved prototyping and piloting capabilities, according to the model fact sheet.
Just a day earlier, the CHIPS Research & Development Program Office announced New York for its first flagship facility in the country.
Plans for the three federal R&D model facilities are underway.
In New York, the government’s $825 million investment will help build two sites — an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) accelerator and a National Semiconductor Technology Center, both to operate within the non-profit NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex.
The third R&D facility will focus on prototyping and advanced packaging manufacturing, but a location and investment amount have yet to be announced.
