Biden administration to invest $1.6B in Texas Instruments semiconductor supply effort

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The Biden administration said Friday will invest $1.6 billion in Texas Instruments' efforts to ramp up U.S. capabilities in the production of "mature node" semiconductors, deemed essential for many everyday uses.

The Dallas-based tech manufacturer and the Department of Commerce announced the direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act will be used to help construct three new semiconductor "fabs," including two now underway in Sherman, Texas, and another in Lehi, Utah.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Texas Instruments CEO Haviv Ilan said the new plants will target the ongoing and chronic shortage of workhorse 300mm wafer chips, considered "mature node" because they are no longer cutting edge technology yet remain vital for thousands of applications at the heart of many American economic sectors.

The CHIPS Act signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022 was designed to provide incentives for companies to boost the domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips critical to U.S.-based supply chains as wells as for U.S. and economic and national security .

"During the pandemic, shortages of current-generation and mature node chips fueled inflation and made our country less safe," Raimondo said in a statement . "With this proposed investment from the Biden-Harris administration in TI, a global leader of production for current-generation and mature node chips, we would help secure the supply chain for these foundational semiconductors that are used in every sector of the U.S. economy, and create thousands of jobs in Texas and Utah."

While mature node semiconductors don't receive as much attention as their advanced counterparts, they remain widespread throughout the global economy in applications such as telecommunications equipment, computing, automotive, memory and storage, and cloud equipment.

The shortage of mature node chipsets in the 22-75 nanometer range largely remains unfilled despite some estimates they will make up approximately 24% of all unmet demand for semiconductor chips by 2027.

The lack of U.S. supply of such chips during and after the COVID-19 pandemic was keenly felt in the automotive industry, forcing some auto manufacturing plants to close temporarily due to not having enough chips to make the vehicles.

Ilan said TI is aiming to expand its 300mm manufacturing operations in the United States by more than 95% by 2030, thus providing the country with "geopolitically dependable" capacity at scale "for years to come."