U.S. Department of Commerce Awards $874 Million in Semiconductor R&D Funding to 7 Companies

On July 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced $874 million in CHIPS Act R&D funding across seven companies, including GlobalFoundries and Kepler. The incentives target advanced packaging, AI memory, and supply chain security. In exchange, the government will receive minority, non-controlling equity stakes in each company to protect taxpayer returns.

CHIPS Act R&D funding awards

• ▪The United States Department of Commerce will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each recipient company as a condition for receiving the CHIPS Act research and development funds
• ▪The United States Department of Commerce signed seven letters of intent on July 29, 2026, to provide $874 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act

Advanced computing infrastructure technologies

• ▪GlobalFoundries will receive up to $300 million to accelerate the domestic research and development of co-packaged optics by two to three years
• ▪Multibeam Corporation will receive up to $140 million to develop advanced packaging technology to assemble, stack, and connect multiple chips with thousands of wires
• ▪Thintronics will receive up to $50 million to develop ultra-low-loss inter-layer dielectrics required for next-generation semiconductor interconnects and advanced packaging

AI infrastructure technologies

• ▪Aeluma will receive up to $30 million to develop large diameter, indium-phosphide-free substrate technology used to fabricate photodetectors and lasers for artificial intelligence photonic interconnects
• ▪Kepler will receive up to $245 million to develop high-performance artificial intelligence memory technology enabled by innovative 3D and ferroelectric technologies
• ▪Extropic will receive up to $75 million to develop thermodynamic sampling units that use natural thermal fluctuations to solve complex problems

Semiconductor supply chain security

• ▪OBSIDIA Semiconductors will receive up to $34 million to develop non-invasive counterfeit and malicious component identification systems to ensure supply chain traceability
• ▪The CHIPS Research and Development Office incentives aim to secure domestic supply chains and strengthen United States leadership in the compute supply chain

Administration semiconductor policy

• ▪Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated that the Trump Administration is investing in the compute supply chain to accelerate the innovation engine of the United States
• ▪Bill Frauenhofer, Executive Director for Semiconductor Innovation and Investment, stated that the CHIPS R&D incentives will support breakthroughs in compute and communication infrastructures