July 12, 2024 /SemiMedia/ -- The U.S. government announced on July 9 that it will allocate up to $1.6 billion for research and development in five areas of advanced packaging, an important step in the United States' efforts to maintain its leading position in the manufacturing of components needed for applications such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Laurie Locascio, deputy secretary of commerce and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said the proposed funding is part of the $52 billion authorized in the 2022 CHIPS Act and will help companies innovate in areas such as creating faster ways to transfer data between chips and managing the heat generated by chips. The total grant amount for each company is expected to be as high as $150 million.

“Our R&D efforts in advanced packaging will focus on high-demand applications such as high-performance computing (HPC) and low-power electronics, both of which are necessary to achieve AI leadership,” Locascio said.

The new program covers five R&D areas, including equipment and tools, power delivery and thermal management, connector technology (including photonics and RF), chiplet ecosystem, and electronic design automation (EDA).

So far, the United States accounts for only 3% of global chip packaging capacity, with most packaging work done in Asia. However, companies such as Intel, SK Hynix, Amkor and Samsung Electronics are building packaging plants in the United States.