In February 2024, CHIPS announced that $5B would be spent in the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) to drive innovation in the United States.
As a public-private consortium, NSTC members will have access to an investment fund, facilities, partners, and additional funding opportunities to research, test, and scale up semiconductor technologies and workforce activities. The NSTC’s goal is to be a thriving semiconductor research center that shall serve as an engine of innovation.
The NSTC is operated by Natcast, a non-profit entity. Natcast works in tandem with the CHIPS NSTC Program, which sits within the Department of Commerce. The NSTC and its facilities will benefit the whole country by boosting research and innovation that is unique in scale, breadth, and focus.
In January 2024, Natcast announced the appointment of Deirdre Hanford as its founding Chief Executive Officer. In addition to being CEO, Hanford was also appointed as a trustee of Natcast. Deirdre Hanford has been a key executive at Synopsys for 36 years, Well known within the industry, Hanford has served on the Department of Commerce’s Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC) formed through the CHIPS Act. Jay Lewis is the Director of the NSTC program for the Dept of Commerce.
The organization’s operating structure is shown in Figure 1 and its roadmap is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: NSCT Roadmap – Four-year review. (Source: NSTC)
NSTC Facilities Selection Process – Summer 2024
In March 2024, Natcast released a Request for Information (RFI) to gather community input on use cases for facilities and capabilities, and to gauge market demand. An announcement will be made about the facility and selection process in the Summer of 2024.
The following themes emerged from the RFI responses:
Launching Workforce Center of Excellence – Summer 2024
The Department of Commerce expects to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the NSTC’s workforce efforts, including the creation of a Workforce Center of Excellence to support efforts across the country. They expect to launch the Workforce Center of Excellence in Summer 2024.
NSTC Initial R&D Funding Opportunities – Summer 2024
The NSTC has identified initial R&D programs, which will kick-start the process of delivering impactful results through early investments in projects with a near-term time horizon. Approximately $100 million will be available to fund the first set of external teams. The first two topics selected are AI-based Radio Frequency (RF) Design and Test Vehicles.
Funding competitions for these projects are expected to launch in early summer 2024 with a second competition expected to be released later in the summer.
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