Biden-Harris Administration Announces CHIPS Incentives Award with GlobalFoundries to Strengthen Essential Chip Supply for Key U.S. Industries Including Auto and Defense 

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded GlobalFoundries (GF) up to $1.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities. The award comes after the previously signed preliminary memorandum of terms, announced on February 19, 2024, and the completion of the Department’s due diligence. The award will bolster U.S. competitiveness in current-generation semiconductor production by supporting the company’s investment of approximately $13 billion over the next 10-plus years in its U.S manufacturing sites in New York and Vermont, which produce essential automotive, smart mobile, aerospace and defense, and communications semiconductor technologies. The Department will disburse the funds based on GF’s completion of project milestones. 

“By investing in GF’s domestic manufacturing capabilities, we are helping to secure a stable domestic supply of chips that are found in everything from home electronics to advanced weapons systems,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to President Biden’s leadership and because of CHIPS for America, we are strategically strengthening every part of the semiconductor supply chain to ensure we meet our national security objectives and have the ability to out-compete and out-innovate the rest of the world.”    

“After we saw semiconductor supply chain disruptions during the pandemic creating a shortage of everything from cars to washing machines, President Biden got to work passing the CHIPS and Science Act to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America,” said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian. “Today's award is a testament to how the Biden-Harris Administration continues to drive an American manufacturing renaissance, strengthen our supply chains, and create thousands of good-paying jobs in New York, Vermont, and communities across the country.” 

Currently, there are only four companies outside of China that provide current and mature foundry capabilities at the scale of GF, and GF is the only one of those companies that is headquartered in the United States. Shortages of these semiconductors caused major disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a particularly acute impact on the availability and price of a broad range of goods for Americans, as well as the shutdown of automobile manufacturing sites. The Department's investment in GF will help advance U.S. economic and national security by increasing domestic manufacturing capacity, strengthening supply chain resilience, and onshoring technologies for the first time that are important to the U.S. defense and intelligence communities. The investment includes a new state-of-the-art facility in New York, the capacity expansion and modernization of an existing facility in New York, and the modernization of the company’s operations in Vermont. The investment is estimated to create approximately 9,000 construction and 1,000 manufacturing jobs across both sites, while supporting the work of the Upstate New York Investing in America Workforce Hub, which is helping ensure New Yorkers are trained for good-paying jobs up and down the semiconductor supply chain.  

For more information about the GF award, please visit the CHIPS for America website here and here.  

“The idea of strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing has been five-plus years in the making. With bipartisan support, that idea evolved into the CHIPS and Science Act,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF. “GF's essential chips are at the core of U.S. economic, supply chain and national security. We greatly appreciate the support and funding from both the U.S. Government and the states of New York and Vermont, which we will use to ensure our customers have the American-made chips they need to succeed and win.” 

As stated in the CHIPS Notice of Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities, CHIPS for America will distribute direct funding to recipients for capital expenditures based on the completion of construction, production, and commercial milestones. The program will track the performance of each CHIPS Incentives Award via financial and programmatic reports, in accordance with the award terms and conditions.  

About CHIPS for America 

CHIPS for America has awarded over $10 billion of the over $36 billion in proposed incentives funding allocated to date. These announcements across 20 states are expected to create over 125,000 jobs. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, semiconductor and electronics companies have announced over $450 billion in private investments, catalyzed in large part by public investment. CHIPS for America is part of President Biden and Vice President Harris’s economic plan to invest in America, stimulate private sector investment, create good-paying jobs, make more in the United States, and revitalize communities left behind. CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office, responsible for manufacturing incentives, and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, responsible for R&D programs, that both sit within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Department of Commerce. Visit https://www.chips.gov to learn more.