President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, securing billions to help revitalize the US semiconductor industry.
The CHIPS and Science Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation that sets aside more than $52 billion to help companies establish and expand semiconductor manufacturing in the US. The bill passed the US House in late July, opening the way for Biden to sign the bill into law.
Biden has now signed the bill, opening the way for companies to receive funding. The move will likely result in companies investing more in the US, especially since some companies appear to have been waiting to to see if the bill would pass before making further investments.
At the same time, the bill is poised to ratchet up tensions with China, since a key element prohibits companies that accept funding from expanding advanced chip manufacturing in that country. In fact, the bill would prevent companies from expanding production of anything more advanced than 28-nanometer designs, technology that is already more than a decade old.
Only time will tell if chipmakers accept the funding or decide to keep their options open.