April 30, 2024 /SemiMedia/ -- According to Bloomberg, the U.S. government announced a $5 billion investment in the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), a public-private consortium designed to support the research and development of advanced semiconductor chips in the United States.

The investment is part of the CHIPS and Science Act, which will see the U.S. government spend tens of billions of dollars worth of grants to push companies around the world to produce chips domestically.

NSTC will bring together government, industry, labor, customers, suppliers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors to accelerate the pace of innovation, lower the barriers to participation in semiconductor R&D, and directly address the fundamental need for a skilled, diverse semiconductor workforce. The center will help fund the design and prototype development of new chips, in addition to training workers for the industry, as skilled labor is also in high demand in the semiconductor sector.

NSTC CEO Deirdre Hanford said the center is looking for ways to make it easier for people to work on chip design in this country rather than developing another application or another artificial intelligence software.

In addition to the $5 billion earmarked for NSTC, the Department of Commerce has also allocated funds for other semiconductor research-related programs. This includes $3 billion earmarked for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Initiative, $200 million for the National Institute of Chip Manufacturing, $109 million for the Chip Metrology Initiative, and a remaining $2.7 billion in funding to be allocated to similar initiatives at a later stage.