In late February, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo delivered a policy address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the implementation of CHIPS and Science Act, again emphasizing the need for U.S.-based manufacturing and packaging of leading edge semiconductor chips.
She said their work in implementing the CHIPS act just got a “whole lot more important” due to the boom in generative AI. “When we started this, generative AI wasn’t even really part of our vocabulary. Now it’s everywhere,” she said, noting that it takes tens of thousands of leading-edge semiconductor chips to train a single large language model. “AI will be the defining technology of our generation. You can’t lead in AI if you don’t lead in making leading-edge chips,” she said.
The U.S. does lead in the design of chips and the development of AI large language models but does not manufacture or package the leading-edge chips needed for AI (and for national defense). “We don’t make it in America and the brutal fact is the United States cannot lead the world as a technology and innovation leader on such a shaky foundation,” Raimondo said.
The good news is that, since the Act was announced, the private sector in the U.S. has announced $200 billion in semiconductor manufacturing investments. To be fair, many of those announcements came with a “dependent on CHIPS Act funding” clause which Raimondo said might not fully materialize. Leading-edge firms — which include Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. — are seeking more than $70 billion from the 2022 Chips Act. Raimondo said her conversations with chips company CEOs typically include them asking for billions in government assistance, which she says is reasonable. “I tell them you will be lucky to get half of that.”
However, interest in building new fabs and packaging houses in the U.S. is very strong. Raimondo said the industry’s response has been better than expected. When announcing the CHIPS Act last year, she said the goal was to have at least two new large-scale clusters of leading-edge logic fabs, each of those clusters employing thousands of workers. “I’m pleased to tell you today we expect to exceed that target. Now that we’ve seen the applications, the way industry has responded, I think we’re going to do better than what we told you we would do a year ago. We think our investments in leading-edge logic chips manufacturing will put this country on track to produce roughly 20 percent of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by the end of the decade.”
She also sees a bright future for the supply chain. “I’m confident the United States can become the home to the entire silicon supply chain for the production of these leading-edge chips,” she said.
Watch Secretary Raimondo’s remarks here and read full transcript here. Reports from various news organization are below.
But first, in case you missed it, check out Sam Altman Seeks Trillions of Dollars to Reshape Business of Chips and AI and the very good companion piece Raising Trillions of Dollars Might Be the Easy Part of Altman’s Chip Plan. $7 TRILLION! Gotta love it.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: CHIPMAKERS SEEK MORE THAN $70 BILLION IN FEDERAL SUBSIDIES
Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, said new investments would put the U.S. on track to produce roughly 20% of the world’s most advanced logic chips by the end of the decade. Companies that produce the most advanced semiconductors have requested more than $70 billion in federal subsidies, roughly twice the amount of funding that is available, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Monday.
ABC NEWS: TO LEAD ON AI, US NEEDS TO LEAD ON COMPUTER CHIPS, COMMERCE SECRETARY SAYS
Artificial Intelligence will be the “defining technology of our generation,” when it comes to the future of technology, but specifically the advancement of semiconductors in the United States, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. “You can’t lead on AI if you don’t believe in making leading-edge chips,” Raimondo said in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And so our work in implementing chips have just got a whole lot more important.” The Commerce Department is tasked with implementing the CHIPS and Science Act — which spends nearly $53 billion to spur research in and development of America’s semiconductor industry. It is intended to address a nearly two-year global chip shortage that stemmed from supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CNBC NEWS: COMMERCE SECRETARY RAIMONDO: U.S. SET TO BECOME A MAJOR HUB OF LEADING-EDGE LOGIC CHIP MANUFACTURING
The Biden administration is aiming to make the U.S. a major manufacturer of state-of-the-art semiconductor chips before 2030 to compete on the global market, increase national security and create more jobs, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. “Our investments in leading-edge logic chip manufacturing will put this country on track to produce roughly 20% of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by the end of the decade,” Raimondo said during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That’s a big deal,” she added. “Why is that a big deal? Because folks, today we’re at zero.” The announcement comes a year after the U.S. Department of Commerce opened funding applications for the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, including $39 billion in manufacturing incentives, and Raimondo outlined its goals by 2030.
BLOOMBERG: ADVANCED CHIP FIRMS WANT $70 BILLION FROM US, RAIMONDO SAYS
Advanced semiconductor companies have requested more than double the amount of available federal funds for projects in the US, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, referring to a program designed to bring chip manufacturing back to American soil. Leading-edge firms — which include Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. — are seeking more than $70 billion from the 2022 Chips Act, Raimondo said Monday in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The legislation set aside $39 billion in grants — plus loans and loan guarantees valued at $75 billion — to revitalize US semiconductor manufacturing after decades of production abroad.
REUTERS: CHIPS COMPANIES WILL BE LUCKY TO GET HALF OF SUBSIDIES SOUGHT, US COMMERCE SECRETARY SAYS
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday chips companies seeking government subsidies from a $52.7 billion program are expected get significantly less than they sought. Raimondo said she is pushing chips companies “to do more for less” in order to fund more projects. She said her conversations with chips company CEOs typically include them asking for billions in government assistance, which she says is reasonable. “I tell them you will be lucky to get half of that.” When they come in to finalize a deal, “where they get less than half of what they wanted and they tell me they are not feeling lucky. That’s the reality.” Raimondo said the department is prioritizing projects that will be operational by 2030.
POLITICO: RAIMONDO: CHIPS AWARDEES MUST COME ONLINE BY 2030
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday that her department’s CHIPS office will exclude chipmakers from incentive funds if their fabs cannot come online by 2030. “We want to maximize our impact in this decade,” Raimondo said at an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s not responsible to give money to a project that will come online 10 or 12 years from now if it means saying no to excellent projects that could come online this year.” The requirement places new pressure on microchip manufacturers after several of them have announced delays and pushed back their initial timelines. Why it matters: Last year, Raimondo laid out several goals for the CHIPS Act, including establishing at least two new large-scale clusters of fabs in the U.S. for leading-edge logic chips by 2030.
YAHOO: BIDEN WANTS THE US TO MAKE 20% OF ALL HIGH-END CHIPS BY END OF THE DECADE
The Biden administration laid out an ambitious new goal for the US: produce 20% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips by the end of the decade. Achieving that mark — set by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a speech Monday morning — would be a dramatic turnabout for the US. It currently makes 0% of the so-called leading edge logic chips that are considerably more powerful than older-generation semiconductors, making them crucial for everything from mobile phones to AI to quantum computing. “That’s a big number, yes,” Raimondo said of the 20% goal while speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE: US CAN HOUSE ‘ENTIRE’ SUPPLY CHAIN FOR ADVANCED CHIPS: COMMERCE DEPT
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo expressed confidence Monday that the country can house the entire silicon supply chain for making advanced chips, including tech that is key for artificial intelligence. Her comments come as the United States looks to cement its lead in the chip industry — especially for chips needed for the development of AI — both on national security grounds and also in the face of competition with China. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, Raimondo said US manufacturing investments “will put this country on track to produce roughly 20 percent of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by the end of the decade.”
NIKKEI ASIA: U.S. AIMS TO MAKE 20% OF WORLD’S LEADING-EDGE CHIPS BY 2030: RAIMONDO
The U.S. will manufacture a fifth of the world’s most advanced logic chips by 2030, backed by a domestic supply chain spanning raw materials to packaging, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced Monday. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank here, Raimondo said the U.S. will not be able to lead the world if it depends on a couple of Asian countries for the most advanced chips, especially as artificial intelligence becomes the defining technology of the generation. She explained that the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which includes $39 billion in incentives for manufacturing semiconductor devices in the U.S., will help alter the landscape. “We think our investments in leading-edge logic chips, leading-edge logic chip manufacturing, will put this country on track to produce roughly 20% of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by the end of the decade,” she said. “Today we are at zero,” she said. Raimondo also said the Biden administration believes that it will be successful in onshoring production of cost-competitive leading-edge memory chips “at scale” in the U.S.