TSMC and GlobalFoundries secure $13B in Chips Act funds ahead of Trump's inauguration
Reuters and Bloomberg report that TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and another unnamed company have completed agreements to receive billions in Chips Act funds from the US government.
In brief: The US has spent the last two years preparing to award chipmakers billions to help boost the country's domestic semiconductor industry, which has lagged behind nations like Taiwan and South Korea. The US government is negotiating the last of the subsidies as the incoming Trump administration threatens the policy's future.
Reuters and Bloomberg report that TSMC, GlobalFoundries, and another unnamed company have completed agreements to receive billions in Chips Act funds from the US government. The deliveries will likely be the last before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who is critical of the legislation.
Although the companies haven't yet received the grants and loans, the US Commerce Department recently informed Congress that three companies will imminently receive the money. The amounts reflect prior agreements with TSMC and GlobalFoundries.
The government awarded GlobalFoundries $1.5 billion to construct a new semiconductor fab in New York and help expand the company's Vermont operations. Meanwhile, TSMC secured a $6.6 billion grant and a $5 billion loan to build a fab for 2nm chips in Arizona.
Congress passed the Chips and Science Act in 2022, earmarking $280 billion for chipmakers who agreed to develop manufacturing facilities stateside. The program aims to reduce US dependence on South Korea and Taiwan for the most advanced semiconductors, partly because the latter is under potential threat from China.
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i wonder if a condition for receiving funds is to have hidden spyware or a backdoor embedded in the chips.