Intel Lands Largest CHIPS Award: $8.5 Billion in Grants, $11 Billion in Loans

The Biden administration on March 20, 2024 announced the largest award yet under the CHIPS and Science Act: up to $8.5 billion in direct grants and $11 billion in federal loans for Intel, supporting more than $100 billion of planned investment across Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon. Speaking at Intel's Ocotillo campus in Chandler, Arizona, President Biden said the deal would "enable advanced semiconductor manufacturing to make a comeback here in America after 40 years."

Intel's projects include two new fabs in Arizona and a pair of leading-edge plants in New Albany, Ohio, expected to create over 10,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 20,000 construction jobs. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the program aims to lift the U.S. share of the world's most advanced chip production from effectively zero to 20 percent by 2030, reducing dependence on Taiwan, which produces more than 90 percent of leading-edge chips.

The Intel award followed earlier CHIPS announcements for BAE Systems, Microchip Technology and GlobalFoundries, with awards for TSMC ($6.6 billion), Samsung ($6.4 billion) and Micron ($6.1 billion) following within weeks. Together the awards committed more than half of the CHIPS program's $39 billion manufacturing incentive pool, anchoring the largest U.S. industrial-policy experiment since World War II.

Source: Reuters, March 20, 2024; U.S. News & World Report. Reference: Biden Awards $19.5 Billion to Intel — U.S. News