Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that Silicon Valley has been selected as the future home of the National Semiconductor Technology Center’s headquarters.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has selected a new design and collaboration facility to be based in Sunnydale. The facility will serve as the headquarters for the technology center and NatCast, the nonprofit organization that operates the center, the governor’s office said in a news release on its website.
The governor’s office described the project as a first-of-its-kind facility made possible by the CHIPS & Science Act passed by Congress in 2022. President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of semiconductor chips when he gave a speech supporting Micron’s plan that year. A huge $100 billion manufacturing plant in upstate New York. Watch the video attached to the online version of this story.
California’s Design and Collaboration Facility is expected to raise more than $1 billion in research funding and create more than 200 direct jobs over the next 10 years, the governor’s office said.
This will be one of CHIP for America’s three research and development locations.
Newsom: California’s choice is not surprising
Newsom said the choice of California for the semiconductor facility was not surprising given the state’s status as a global technology leader and its talent pool, universities and research institutions.
“We often say the future happens here first, and thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcements, California will shape the coming decades in the most important areas of our economy and national security. We will continue to do so,” the governor said.
Facilities aimed at lowering barriers to research
The design and collaboration facility will lower barriers to semiconductor prototyping, experimentation and other research and development, according to the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
Economic Development Director Dee Dee Myers said the Newsom administration and its technology partners recognize the importance of reducing the time from research and development to commercialization.
She said her office looks forward to partnering with NatCast and the Department of Commerce to ensure success for California and the United States.
What is a semiconductor?
Semiconductors, or computer chips, power consumer electronics, cars, data centers, infrastructure, and military systems. According to Intel, there are many types of semiconductors, each with their own specialties. A typical chip is only about 1 millimeter thick and contains about 30 layers of components and wires called interconnects that make up a complex circuit. Billions of tiny switches called transistors make them work.
Semiconductor employment expected to increase by nearly 115,000 by 2030
Since CHIPS was first introduced in Congress, semiconductor companies and their suppliers have announced dozens of projects in the United States totaling hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment. These projects are projected to create tens of thousands of new jobs and support hundreds of thousands more across the U.S. economy.
The overall U.S. semiconductor industry workforce is expected to grow by nearly 115,000 people by 2030, up from about 345,000 jobs today, according to a recent study by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the University of Oxford. It is expected to reach around 460,000 jobs by the end of the year. economy.
The report found that without action to strengthen the U.S. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, 67,000 jobs for technicians, computer scientists, and engineers in the semiconductor industry will be lost by 2030. It is estimated that there is a risk that it will not be filled by 2020.
The challenge of expanding the STEM talent pipeline extends beyond the semiconductor industry. The overall U.S. economy is estimated to create 3.85 million new skilled jobs in technology by the end of 2030, according to SIA/Oxford research.
USA TODAY contributed to this article.
Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. Contact us at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.
