The third subsidy for the U.S. chip industry is coming, and Intel, TSMC, etc. may receive billions of dollars in funding. On January 27, media reported that with the election approaching, the Biden administration plans to announce the release of the third subsidy of the Chip Act worth 53 billion before the end of March. It is expected that Intel, TSMC and other leading semiconductor companies will receive billions of dollars to accelerate the construction of new factories across the United States.
Media reports stated that this third subsidy is different from the first two subsidies.Subsidies are targeted at advanced process semiconductor technologies, and the amount of funds is much larger.Most of the companies receiving subsidies are manufacturing companies that produce advanced chips used in smartphones, artificial intelligence, etc.
In August 2022, Biden signed the "Chip Act" to provide US$52.7 billion for US semiconductor research and development, manufacturing and workforce development. But more than a year after the bill was introduced, the U.S. government has yet to provide any of the subsidies or benefits it had previously promised to large chip manufacturers like TSMC or Intel.
The media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Biden is expected to announce this news before delivering the State of the Union address on March 7 to further stimulate the production of advanced manufactured chips, with Intel and TSMC most likely to receive subsidies:
Intel plans to upgrade or build new factories in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Ohio, which will cost more than $43.5 billion.
TSMC plans to build two chip factories near Phoenix, Arizona, with a total investment of US$40 billion.
As the world's leading contract manufacturer, TSMC's projects in the United States frequently encounter obstacles. At the TSMC legal meeting in January this year, TSMC executives revealed that in view of the uncertainty about the U.S. government’s incentives and tax subsidy policies, the company will once again delay the construction of the factory in Arizona. The second factory in Arizona is expected to be put into production in 2027 or 2028, which is at least one year later than TSMC’s previous estimate of 2026.
In addition, TSMC executives also pointed out that the specific types of chips produced by the factory have not yet been determined. This means that the factoryThe question of whether 3nm advanced process chips will be produced is unknown.
In July last year, TSMC announced that it would postpone the construction of its first factory in the United States and postpone its production time from 2024 to 2025 as previously announced. TSMC claimed at the time that the construction of the plant faced problems such as a lack of skilled labor and rising costs.
According to TSMC Chief Financial Officer Huang Renzhao, TSMC has delayed the construction of the second factory due to setbacks at the first factory.