The Global War for Data and Chip Supremacy: The U.S. Landscape

By Jim Lundy

The Global War for Data and Chip Supremacy: The US Landscape

The race to establish data center hubs and secure new chip factories is heating up across the globe. As cloud computing and AI continue their exponential growth, governments and corporations are locked in fierce competition to attract these critical infrastructure components. Let’s delve into the current landscape for the major new chip factories coming online. 

The US CHIPs Act and Bringing Semiconductor Manufacturing Back to the U.S.

The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 is being seen as a historic investment in revitalizing the American semiconductor industry. With up to $52 billion in direct subsidies, the US Chip Act provides financial incentives for companies to establish new chip manufacturing facilities on US soil. 

This aims to reduce reliance on overseas production, bolster national security within crucial supply chains, and generate high-paying domestic jobs.

Beyond manufacturing support, the CHIPS and Science Act also allocates significant funding for semiconductor research and development. This investment intends to drive innovation in advanced chip technologies, maintain the US’s competitive edge, and foster a robust workforce pipeline in this vital sector.

The Chips Act is Producing Results

Semiconductor firms have wasted no time to take advantage of the CHIPS Act. We are already seeing a renaissance in domestic chip manufacturing, with Arizona, New York, and Texas attracting major investments from companies including Intel, TSMC, and Samsung. See Table 1.

 

 

Table 1: This provides a high level overview of where major new FABs are being built.

The Western States are Winning the FAB Wars

So far it is Texas and Arizona that have had the biggest commitments to new 14 new Chip Factories, also referred to as FABs. This is partly because Intel and Texas Instruments had already had a presence there. It is also due to States offering significant incentives and Tax breaks.

Eastern States – Ohio and New York are Winning

So far the biggest win has been for Ohio where Licking County got a major commitment from Intel to build a new fab there. In New York, Micron and Global Foundry are also building new fabs In Marcy and  Malta NY, respectively.

The Bottom Line

Due to incentives, the war for chip factories is far from over and there are employment opportunities for many States. However, it is a highly competitive environment and many States and Cities are still in the early phases of even putting together a pitch to companies to be based in their state. There is an opportunity for enterprises, higher education and state and local government to work together to make this happen.

 

---

 

UPCOMING WEBINARS

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Race to Generative AI: Putting CoPilots to Work in Your Enterprise

Generative AI is here and with it the promise of increased productivity. But is that a promise or is it a reality?

In this webinar Aragon analyst, Adam Pease and CEO, Jim Lundy take on the challenge of putting Generative AI to work.

 

Register for Free Here