WASHINGTON (AFP) – United States (US) President Joe Biden’s administration has finalised an award of up to USD458 million for SK hynix, officials said yesterday, furthering efforts to lock in his legacy in boosting US semiconductor production before Donald Trump takes office.
The money supports a broader SK hynix investment of around USD3.9 billion in Indiana, where the South Korean semiconductor firm is building facilities including a memory packaging plant for artificial intelligence (AI) products, said the Commerce Department.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said “we are solidifying America’s AI hardware supply chain” with the move.
SK hynix is the world’s second-biggest maker of memory chips.
“This new facility will develop state-of-the-art advanced packaging, which is more and more important to US semiconductor leadership,” said assistant to the US president for science and technology Arati Prabhakar.
The investment is expected to create some 1,000 new facility jobs, and there will also be a research hub set up via SK hynix’s partnership with Purdue University, the Commerce Department added.
Besides the direct funding of up to USD458 million, the US also providing up to USD500 million in loans to the company, through a loan authority under the CHIPS and Science Act.
The Biden administration has unveiled billions in grants through the CHIPS Act, and officials have been working to get deals across the finish line in recent weeks – before the new US administration enters the White House.
President-elect Trump has previously criticised the CHIPS Act, which the grant falls under. But a finalised award means that funds can start flowing as companies reach milestones.
Of more than USD36 billion in proposed funding allocated, officials have finalised USD26 billion so far. Other companies whose agreements have also been firmed up in recent days include chip giant TSMC, GlobalFoundries, Intel and Micron Technology.
The US makes some 10 per cent of the world’s chips, with none being the most advanced, and Washington has been working to shore up the country’s chipmaking capabilities.
