As the United States announced plans to reorganize the semiconductor supply chain centered on its own country by providing subsidies related to the CHIPS Act, many companies have shown interest.
The Semiconductor Program Office under the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the 17th that more than 200 companies that might apply for subsidies had submitted letters of intent by the 14th (local time). The names of the companies that submitted letters of intent were not disclosed.
Earlier, on February 28, the Department of Commerce announced the application procedures for semiconductor production subsidies and guided interested companies to submit letters of intent at least 21 days before submitting their applications.
In the letters of intent, companies must specify the scale of the facilities they plan to build with the semiconductor law subsidies, the products to be produced, the timing and amount of investment, location and production capacity, and expected customers.
After analyzing the submitted letters of intent, the Department of Commerce stated that the projects companies are pursuing are distributed across 35 states and cover the entire semiconductor ecosystem.
More than half of the letters of intent expressed interest in investing in commercial semiconductor manufacturing facilities, including advanced and previous generation semiconductor technologies and packaging. The remainder pertain to semiconductor materials and equipment production, as well as research and development facilities.
The Department of Commerce emphasized, "It is clear that the private sector still desires to continue investing in the United States," adding, "With strong interest in the semiconductor law subsidies, the Department will evaluate applications based on whether the projects enhance the U.S. economy and national security."
Additionally, the program office added explanations regarding excess profit sharing, trade secret protection, environmental impact assessments, and national security guardrails on the FAQ section of its website.
The office clarified that excess profit sharing is triggered only when profits significantly exceed projections, so it is expected not to occur in most projects, stating, "This is not intended to regulate the profits companies will receive."
Meanwhile, the United States has allocated a total budget of $52.7 billion over five years, including $39 billion for semiconductor production subsidies and $13.2 billion for research and development support, to encourage semiconductor companies to invest in the U.S.
The Department of Commerce has been accepting applications from companies intending to build advanced semiconductor factories since the 31st of last month, and will begin accepting applications for other semiconductor factories and post-processing facilities such as packaging from June 26.
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