(The Center Square) – More taxpayer money is funding semiconductor manufacturing expansion in Texas. The first four grants were awarded to companies with hundreds of billions of dollars-worth of market capitalization in the stock market.
Nearly $700 million of taxpayer grants are being awarded through the Texas CHIPS Act, which the legislature passed, and Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law, in 2023. The law created the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium and Texas Semiconducter Innovation Fund, among other provisions, to solidify Texas as the U.S. leader in the semiconductor industry, The Center Square reported.
In November 2024, the first TSIF grant of $4.12 million was awarded to Intelligent Epitaxy Technology, Inc. to expand operations at its wafer production facility in Allen. Its market capitalization is valued at more than $6 billion, according to a delayed quote from the Taipei Exchange.
Notably, IntelliEPI is the only domestic manufacturer of epitaxy-based compound wafers in the U.S. It first incorporated its technology in Texas. It committed $41 million in capital investment to nearly triple its annual wafer production in Texas.
In February, Dongjin Semichem Texas received a $2.4 million TSIF grant for its specialty chemicals and materials facility in Killeen, The Center Square reported. The DST facility will replace foreign sources of the thinners producing them in Texas for the first time. DST has committed $110 million in capital investment; its Killeen facility is expected to create 24 new jobs.
Also in February, Austin-based Silicon Laboratories Inc., received a $23.25 million TSIF grant to support its research and development for wireless product development. It has a market capitalization, or net worth, of $4.5 billion, according to Nasdaq.
Silicon Labs, which is expected to make more than $80 million in capital investments, conducts integrated chip design and development and provides wireless technology and integrated hardware and software solutions for multiple industries. It will be investing in cutting-edge semiconductor design and testing equipment, constructing a research lab and developing a platform for integrating artificial intelligence machine learning accelerators, and other technologies.
“This state-of-the-art laboratory is a strategic investment in the future of innovation in Texas,” Gov. Abbott said.
“As a Texas-born company, Silicon Labs is dedicated to leaving a lasting legacy by accelerating the state’s role as a global technology leader,” Silicon Labs President & CEO Matt Johnson said. “Texas CHIPS Act funding will propel Silicon Labs, a fabless semiconductor company, to push the boundaries of wireless chip design and R&D while fostering innovation, job creation, and economic growth.”
This week, a $2 million TSIF grant was awarded to Korean-based KoMiCo Technology, Inc.’s Round Rock facility. It performs precision cleaning and coatings for semiconductor wafer manufacturing tools and sells equipment parts to customers in semiconductor industries.
KoMiCo is expected to make a $36 million capital investment to expand its facility by more than 40,000 square feet to increase its clean room capacity, production lines for contamination removal and application of coatings integral to wafer manufacturing tools. The facility expansion is expected to create 70 new jobs.
The Texas-based company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KoMiCo Ltd., a South Korean company with a market capitalization of nearly $426 billion, according to KOSDAQ.
“This investment not only reinforces our industry but also strengthens the technological fabric of our nation,” KoMiCo USA CEO Sung Soo Jang said. “With Texas’ unwavering support, we are poised to drive innovation, create jobs, and build a brighter future.”
“Texas is leading the American resurgence in semiconductor manufacturing and making strategic investments to secure critical domestic supply chains,” Abbott said.
In response to supply chain failures during the Biden administration, Abbott and major companies prioritized expanding semiconductor manufacturing in Texas.
In 2022, Texas Instruments broke ground on a new semiconductor plant in Sherman, announcing a $30 billion investment to expand its manufacturing capability long term. It was the largest private-sector economic investment in Texas history.
Also in Sherman and in 2022, Taiwan-based GlobalWafers Co. announced it was building a 300-millimeter silicon wafer factory.
In 2023, Texas ranked first for having the best business climate and first for semiconductor production, also leading the U.S. as the top exporter of semiconductors and other electronic components for 13 years, The Center Square reported.
Texas leads the U.S. in new chip manufacturing; more than 43,000 currently work in the Texas semiconductor industry.
The Texas CHIPS Act is separate from the federal CHIPS Act, which appropriated nearly $6.5 billion to semiconductor manufacturing in Texas, The Center Square reported.
