On January 17, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the allocation of $1.4 billion in funding through the CHIPS Act National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP). The initiative aims to strengthen the U.S.'s leadership in advanced packaging technologies, enabling the verification and large-scale transition of new technologies to U.S. manufacturing. These awards will contribute to the establishment of a self-sufficient, large-scale domestic advanced packaging industry, focused on the manufacturing and packaging of advanced-node chips in the U.S.

Under the first funding opportunity notice (NOFO) of the CHIPS NAPMP program, the Department of Commerce will provide a total of $300 million in funding to Absolics Inc., Applied Materials Inc., and Arizona State University to support advanced substrates and materials research. This decision follows earlier announcements on November 21, 2024, regarding the negotiations for these investments.

● Absolics Inc., based in Covington, Georgia, will receive $100 million in direct funding. This award will support Absolics' Substrate and Materials Advanced Research and Technology (SMART) Packaging initiative, aimed at developing a glass-core packaging ecosystem. Absolics' glass substrates will be used as a key advanced packaging technology, enhancing the performance of cutting-edge chips for AI, high-performance computing, and data centers by reducing power consumption and system complexity.

● Applied Materials Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, will receive $100 million in direct funding. This project will focus on the development and scaling of a groundbreaking silicon-core substrate technology for next-generation advanced packaging and 3D heterogeneous integration. Applied Materials' silicon-core substrate technology has the potential to bolster U.S. leadership in advanced packaging and support the development of energy-efficient AI and high-performance computing systems in the U.S.

● Arizona State University, located in Tempe, Arizona, will also receive $100 million in direct funding. This award will support the development of next-generation microelectronics packaging through fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) techniques. The project, centered around Arizona State University's Advanced Electronics and Photonics Core Facility, will explore the commercial viability of 300mm wafer-level and 600mm panel-level manufacturing, a capability currently lacking in the U.S.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced an $1.1 billion investment to Natcast to operate CHIPS for America NSTC prototype manufacturing and NAPMP advanced packaging pilot facilities (PPF). This follows previous announcements regarding the CHIPS R&D facility model in July 2024 and the planned site selection for PPF in January 2025.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated, “Strengthening our advanced packaging capabilities is key to maintaining the U.S. as the global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. These CHIPS for America investments, along with CHIPS R&D flagship facilities, will enhance our end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem and help bridge the gap between invention and commercialization, ensuring that the U.S. remains at the forefront of semiconductor innovation and manufacturing worldwide.”