U.S. Creates High-Tech Global Supply Chains to Blunt Risks Tied to China

8 July 2024 at 13:52

The Biden administration is trying to get foreign companies to invest in chip-making in the United States and more countries to set up factories to do final assembly and packaging.

A Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant under construction in Phoenix. Taiwan produces more than 60 percent of the world’s chips.

U.S. Awards $504 Million for ‘Tech Hubs’ in Overlooked Regions

NYT: Technology

Madeleine Ngo and Ana Swanson

2 July 2024 at 17:15

Biden administration officials hope the money will help propel technological innovation in areas that have historically received less government funding.

The $10 billion program was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act, which lawmakers passed in 2022 to ramp up domestic manufacturing of semiconductors and increase funding for scientific research.

Biden rushes to avert labor shortage with CHIPS act funding for workers

Ars Technica

Ashley Belanger

2 July 2024 at 11:59

US President Joe Biden (C) speaks during a tour of the TSMC Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 6, 2022.

In the hopes of dodging a significant projected worker shortage in the next few years, the Biden administration will finally start funding workforce development projects to support America's ambitions to become the world's leading chipmaker through historic CHIPS and Science Act investments.

The Workforce Partner Alliance (WFPA) will be established through the CHIPS Act's first round of funding focused on workers, officials confirmed in a press release. The program is designed to "focus on closing workforce and skills gaps in the US for researchers, engineers, and technicians across semiconductor design, manufacturing, and production," a program requirements page said.

Bloomberg reported that the US risks a technician shortage reaching 90,000 by 2030. This differs slightly from Natcast's forecast, which found that out of "238,000 jobs the industry is projected to create by 2030," the semiconductor industry "will be unable to fill more than 67,000."

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Nvidia, with $3.34 Trillion Market Cap, Becomes Most Valuable Company

NYT: Technology

Tripp Mickle and Joe Rennison

18 June 2024 at 17:29

The chip maker’s stock price has jumped over the last year thanks to its stranglehold on the market for the chips needed to build A.I. systems.

Lynn Conway, Computing Pioneer and Transgender Advocate, Dies at 86

NYT: Technology

Trip Gabriel

17 June 2024 at 19:32

She made significant contributions at IBM, but she lost her job because of her conviction that she inhabited the wrong body. She later fought for transgender rights.

U.S. Clears Way for Antitrust Inquiries of Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI

NYT: Technology

David McCabe

5 June 2024 at 23:48

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission agreed to divide responsibility for investigating three major players in the artificial intelligence industry.

The Federal Trade Commission will be primarily responsible for examining Microsoft’s and OpenAI’s conduct in the artificial intelligence industry.

Nvidia, Powered by A.I. Boom, Reports Soaring Revenue and Profits

NYT: Technology

Don Clark

22 May 2024 at 18:14

The Silicon Valley company was again lifted by sales of its artificial intelligence chips, but it faces growing competition and heightened expectations.

Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, in March. The company reported revenue of $26 billion in its latest quarter, tripling its sales from a year earlier.

Robert Dennard, IBM Inventor Whose Chip Changed Computing, Dies at 91

NYT: Technology

Steve Lohr

16 May 2024 at 19:06

He invented DRAM, the technology that allowed for the faster and higher-capacity memory storage that is the basis for modern computing.

U.S. Awards $120 Million to Polar Semiconductor to Expand Chip Facility

NYT: Technology

Madeleine Ngo

13 May 2024 at 05:01

The grant is the latest federal award in a series stemming from the CHIPS and Science Act meant to ramp up domestic production of vital semiconductors.

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