The Biden-Harris Administration is looking to provide $285m to establish a headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, for SMART USA (Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA), a first-of-its-kind CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute.
Combined with additional funding, this initiative represents a $1bn investment. SMART USA will focus on developing digital twins to enhance US semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and testing processes.
Within five years, SMART USA hopes to unite semiconductor industry stakeholders to tackle shared challenges, cut chip development and manufacturing costs by over 35%, and reduce development cycles by 30% using digital twin technology.
The initiative also wants to lower semiconductor manufacturing emissions by 25% and train over 100,000 workers and students in digital twin applications.
A major focus for SMART USA is the application of digital twins—virtual models replicating physical objects, such as semiconductor chips. These models allow engineers to design, develop, and test processes digitally, optimising chip production with reduced costs and shorter development cycles.
Digital twins can also validate emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), improving efficiency and minimising costly real-world adjustments
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo praised the Biden-Harris Administration’s support to open new avenues to better safeguard US national security and further technical innovation with the institute.
“With new digital twin capabilities, the US is fostering unparalleled opportunities to collaborate with experts and researchers to develop technology advancements in the semiconductor industry.”
SMART USA will bring companies, startups, researchers, and academia together to provide access to tools that will accelerate the development and adoption of advanced semiconductor technologies, cut time and costs related to chip production, and provide training opportunities for semiconductor workers.
Its planned members span more than 30 states, with over 150 expected partner entities.
Todd Younkin, Executive Director of SMART USA, said the designation as the CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute reaffirms the group’s dedication to fostering collaboration and excellence across the semiconductor ecosystem.
The US CHIPS Act
In 2023, the global semiconductor market faced a downturn, with sales expected to decline by 9.4% to around $520bn. However, projections for 2024 are optimistic, with an anticipated market rebound to $588bn, driven by a resurgence in demand for memory chips and other semiconductor products.
The US market is estimated to grow by 4.13% annually from 2024 to 2027, reaching a market volume of $87.43bn by 2027, according to market research. Having seen a substantial drop in 2023, the memory chip market is also poised for recovery, driven by the CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022.
The Act has allocated over $36bn in proposed funding across 20 states and proposed to invest billions more in research and innovation, which is expected to create over 125,000 jobs.
Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, semiconductor and electronics companies have announced over $400bn in private investments, catalysed in large part by public investment.
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