Semiconductor firm to grow Triangle facility with new CHIPS grant awarded ahead of Trump
A Massachusetts semiconductor manufacturer plans to hire at its facility near Research Triangle Park, part of a $345 million expansion backed, in part, by a new federal grant.
With days before an administration change, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $70 million to the chipmaker MACOM under the CHIPS and Science Act, a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s economic plans to bolster the domestic semiconductor industry. The money will go to grow and modernize MACOM’s facilities in Massachusetts and North Carolina, the company and Commerce Department said, creating an estimated 350 manufacturing jobs between the two states.
Based north of Boston in the city of Lowell, MACOM makes semiconductors that power telecommunication devices for both military and civilian use. The U.S. Department of Defense authorizes its 25,660-square-foot facility in Morrisville to supply equipment for national defense systems, including radar systems.
On Tuesday, MACOM detailed its North Carolina expansion vision, which includes more clean rooms, new lines for a larger, 150-millimeter gallium nitride wafer, and infrastructure upgrades to its existing Triangle footprint.
A wafer is a slice of semiconductor that can be fabricated and cut into functional chips found in a wide-range of modern appliances. Bigger wafers yield more chips, offering manufacturers cost advantages.
“Today’s announcement with MACOM is another example of how CHIPS for America is making targeted and strategic proposed investments across the semiconductor industry,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement Tuesday. “As a result of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, we are strengthening U.S. supply chain security and advancing our technological leadership of the 21st century.”
To date, the federal government has awarded $33 billion in incentive grants through the CHIPS Act, which passed in 2022. With President-elect Donald Trump set to assume office on Jan. 20, the Biden administration has continued to sign preliminary grant agreements with U.S. semiconductor manufacturers as sector experts predict how the program will fare under Republican leadership.
Earlier this month, the Commerce Department finalized its $285 million payment to help fund a future semiconductor research center in Durham. This week’s preliminary $70 million grant to MACOM is conditional on the company hitting certain milestones and the government completing a due diligence process.
MACOM also expects to take advantage of a 25% investment tax credit, created under the CHIPS Act, to fund its expansion. The company’s new project comes 13 months after it purchased the radio frequency division of the Durham chipmaker Wolfspeed, including its local fabrication facility.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Semiconductor firm to grow Triangle facility with new CHIPS grant awarded ahead of Trump."
