The White House recently announced a substantial funding of $15 billion to chipmaker GlobalFoundries, marking the first significant grant from the 2022 CHIPS Act This initiative aims to revitalize research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States However, despite the availability of financial assistance, two major semiconductor producers in the US have delayed their expansion plans The global chip shortage, which was prevalent during the late pandemic, has normalized, leading companies to postpone critical infrastructure pushes beyond 2024

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has delayed the opening of its new factory in Arizona to 2025, instead of the initially planned 2024, and the second factory to 2027 or 2028, rather than 2026 Similarly, Intel, which was expected to open two integrated factories in Arizona this year, has postponed another opening in Ohio from 2025 to 2026

Looking at the map of major semiconductor manufacturing projects in the US as of early 2024, it is evident that several projects are underway Apart from Intel’s twin locations near Phoenix, Samsung is scheduled to open a facility on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, this year These projects are expected to cost between $173 billion and $20 billion and were initiated in 2021 and early 2022 Additionally, Wolfspeed’s North Carolina factory, with an investment of $5 billion, is set to open in 2024

Furthermore, the first TSMC factory and a facility in Boise, Idaho, by US chipmaker Micron are scheduled to be completed next year Texas Instruments is also set to open four new fabs in North Texas, with another location in Utah in two years, producing analog and embedded 300-mm semiconductors for personal computers and other memory applications

The CHIPS Act, while not limited to the most advanced types of microchips, has garnered attention for its focus on cutting-edge logic chips of 5 nm and 3 nm process nodes These chips are crucial for new smartphones, laptops, self-driving cars, and the technological independence the US is striving for TSMC and Samsung are set to produce chips of this caliber in the United States, with TSMC planning to produce the most advanced chips in the world to-date in Arizona, with a significant investment of $40 billion for two factories

Intel, the US company investing the most money in domestic projects at the moment, unveiled its Intel 4 specification, aiming to catch up to industry leader TSMC by releasing two more new products by 2025 Despite the delays in US openings, innovation on the most sought-after logic chips globally might continue to happen elsewhere for the time being, despite the CHIPS Act funding promise having led to a small US microchip construction boom as of now

In conclusion, the semiconductor industry in the United States is experiencing significant developments and delays in expansion plans, influenced by the normalization of the global chip shortage and the implications of the CHIPS Act