Recently, there was news within the U.S. Congress that the United States plans to invest $3.5 billion in chip manufacturing giant Intel, aiming to promote the company's local production of advanced semiconductors to meet the needs of military and intelligence projects. This news has attracted wide attention from the industry and the market.
It is reported that the funds will be included in the fast-spending bill that will be passed in the House of Representatives and is expected to be approved by the Senate in the coming days. The funding is a $39 billion pool of funds allocated by the CHIPS and Science Act, which is planned to be distributed to Intel over three years to implement a program called the "Safe Enclave."
The "Safe Enclave" program aims to attract and incentivize chipmakers to set up production lines within the United States through subsidies to ensure the security of the chain of key technologies. Currently, more than 600 companies have expressed interest in applying for funding from the program. It was previously reported that Intel is in talks with the ** department to receive subsidies of $3 billion to $4 billion.
According to information disclosed by foreign media, Intel is expected to receive more than $10 billion in "CHIPS Act" incentive funds, including grants and loans and other forms. However, Intel did not comment on the pending $3.5 billion investment. The U.S. Department of Commerce said in a statement that it is carefully evaluating the overall impact of the grant on the CHIPS Act.
The release comes at a time when the U.S. Department of Commerce is actively preparing to offer incentives to other advanced chipmakers. According to reports, the Commerce Department will provide billions of dollars in incentives to companies such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics to further strengthen chip manufacturing capacity in the United States. Previously, the agency had announced several grant plans, including a ***-focused grant to the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems PLC, and a $1.5 billion grant to Globalfoundries, which produces older generation semiconductors. In addition, the Pentagon has provided a total of 2$3.8 billion in allocations.
While there is broad support for the determination to strengthen local chip manufacturing, some members of Congress have expressed concern about the practice of offering high incentives to specific companies. They believe that such costs may be higher than the amount actually required to obtain these chips, and that the investment benefits and potential risks need to be more carefully evaluated.
Overall, the United States aims to strengthen local chip manufacturing capacity and improve the level of chip manufacturing by providing financial support to chip manufacturers such as Intel. However, it is still necessary to carefully weigh the costs and benefits in the implementation process to ensure the effective use of funds and the sustainable development of the industry.