U.S. Department of Commerce signs $874 million in CHIPS Act incentives with 7 companies for semiconductor R&D

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced letters of intent with seven companies for $874 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act to accelerate semiconductor research and development for the compute supply chain. The incentives aim to support integrated photonics, compute architectures, advanced packaging, substrates, materials, and memory technologies.

The companies listed include GlobalFoundries, Kepler, Multibeam Corporation, Extropic, Thintronics, OBSIDIA Semiconductors, and Aeluma. Each company will conduct R&D to advance technologies critical for next-generation computing and AI systems, subject to final approval by the Department of Commerce.

GlobalFoundries will receive up to $300 million to accelerate domestic R&D of co-packaged optics, integrating photonics alongside AI processors to deliver energy-efficient computing. Kepler will receive up to $245 million to develop high-performance AI memory technology using 3D and ferroelectric technologies.

Multibeam Corporation will receive up to $140 million to develop advanced packaging technology for assembling and stacking multiple chips, enabling more advanced systems for AI and advanced computing. Extropic will receive up to $75 million to develop thermodynamic sampling units that use thermal fluctuations to solve complex problems with lower energy consumption.

Thintronics will receive up to $50 million to develop ultra-low-loss inter-layer dielectrics for next-generation semiconductor interconnects and advanced packaging in high-performance computing and AI. OBSIDIA Semiconductors will receive up to $34 million to develop systems for identifying counterfeit and malicious components in secure supply chains for AI and advanced electronics.

Aeluma will receive up to $30 million to develop indium-phosphide-free substrate technology for fabricating photodetectors and lasers used in AI photonic interconnects. The Department of Commerce will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition for receiving the funds.