The U.S. Department of Commerce on July 29 signed letters of intent to steer $874 million in CHIPS Act incentives to seven companies working on next-gen computing and AI hardware. The funding targets integrated photonics, advanced packaging, new memory architectures, substrates, materials and supply-chain security, areas seen as critical to keeping the U.S. at the front of the compute stack.
How the funding breaks down
GlobalFoundries leads the group with up to $300 million to speed development of co-packaged optics, a technology that integrates photonic links alongside AI processors to cut latency and energy use in data centers.
Kepler follows with up to $245 million to build a new class of high?performance AI memory using 3D and ferroelectric approaches.
Multibeam Corporation is slated for up to $140 million to develop advanced packaging that stacks multiple chips and connects them with thousands of interconnects for AI workloads.
The remaining awards go to niche enablers like:
- Extropic (up to $75 million) for thermodynamic sampling units that leverage natural thermal noise to solve optimization and AI problems more efficiently;
- Thintronics (up to $50 million) for ultra-low-loss inter-layer dielectrics needed in high-performance interconnects and advanced packaging;
- OBSIDIA Semiconductors (up to $34 million) for non?invasive systems to detect counterfeit or malicious components in secure supply chains;
- And Aeluma (up to $30 million) to develop large-diameter, indium-phosphide-free substrates for photonic interconnects.
What comes next
These are letters of intent, not final grants. The U.S. Department of Commerce will conduct further diligence and internal approvals before issuing final awards.
As a condition of funding, the government will take a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company, a move intended to improve taxpayer returns if the technologies succeed.
The CHIPS Research and Development Office says it continues to solicit proposals for microelectronics R&D, prototyping and commercial solutions under announcement 2025-NIST?CHIPS?CRDO?01 at www.grants.gov.
Leadership Comment
“With today’s compute supply chain investments, the Trump Administration is accelerating America’s innovation engine,” said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. “These strategic investments will enhance our country’s domestic capabilities, create high-paying jobs and keep America at the forefront of the semiconductor industry.”
“These CHIPS R&D incentives will support breakthroughs in compute and communication infrastructures to power next-generation AI capabilities,” said Bill Frauenhofer, the Executive Director for Semiconductor Innovation and Investment at the Department of Commerce. “Accelerating R&D for domestic photonics capabilities, novel memory architectures, advanced packaging, substrates, and other technologies will provide American industries the extreme bandwidth and energy efficiency to scale complex AI workloads securely and rapidly.”
