The Commerce Department has signed letters of intent to provide $874 million in CHIPS and Science Act incentives to seven companies advancing semiconductor technologies for AI and high-performance computing.

On Wednesday, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated that these incentives aim to boost U.S. leadership in advanced computing by strengthening domestic supply chains and accelerating AI technologies.

GlobalFoundries Inc. (NASDAQ:GFS): Will receive up to $300 million to accelerate U.S. R&D of co-packaged optics, integrating photonics with AI processors to improve speed and energy efficiency. At the same time, Kepler will receive up to $245 million to develop advanced AI memory technology using 3D and ferroelectric technologies.

Multibeam Corporation is set to receive up to $140 million to develop advanced chip packaging technology for stacking multiple chips and connecting them with thousands of wires.

At the same time, Extropic, Thintronics, OBSIDIA Semiconductors, and Aeluma would receive investments ranging from $30 million to $75 million to support projects focused on low-power computing technologies, advanced semiconductor materials, and systems designed to detect counterfeit components.

The companies have signed preliminary agreements with the Commerce Department for funding, pending further review. The investments will support R&D in areas such as integrated photonics, advanced packaging, computing architectures, substrates, materials, and memory for next-generation AI systems. In exchange, the government will receive minority, non-controlling equity stakes in the companies.

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Trump’s $2 Billion Semiconductor Push

The development comes on the heels of the Trump administration awarding nearly $2 billion in CHIPS Act funding to nine companies in May. This includes International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) with $1 billion, GlobalFoundries with $375 million, and quantum computing firms D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS), Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI), and Infleqtion Inc. (NASDAQ:INFQ) with $100 million each.

The government also seeks equity stakes in some recipients, allowing taxpayers to share in potential future gains. The move expands Washington’s strategy of using federal funding to support strategic technologies and strengthen U.S. competitiveness.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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