Gina Raimondo, the US Commerce Secretary proposed a new 52 billion US Dollar funding that will boost the government’s efforts for semiconductor production and research and might even lead to seven to ten new chip factories.
According to a Reuters report, the government official proposed the funding earlier this week in an event outside of Micron Tech’s chip factory. Raimondo believes that the government could generate a “150 billion US Dollar plus” investment in chip production and research. The investment would also include contributions from state and federal governments and even private sectors as well. She further added that “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.”
Furthermore, Raimondo expects that different states will compete for federal funding for chip facilities, while the Commerce Department would run a transparent process for awarding the funds. For those unaware, the proposal from the Secretary arrives as the world is facing a major shortage of semiconductors. This has led various governments to scramble for chip supplies and even invest locally to build new plants, including the like of the US and even the European regions.
The chip shortage has already caused a supply issue in various industries like automobiles, smartphones, home appliances, and others. Similarly, US Senator Mark Warner also stated that he believed the funds could help build around “seven to 10” new plants, although, “This is not going to solve this overnight. It will take years for the Commerce Department to make these investments.”
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