US plans $285 million in funding for “digital twin” chips research – The Verge
By Emilia David, a reporter who covers AI. Prior to joining The Verge, she covered the intersection between technology, finance, and the economy.
The Biden administration is taking applications for $285 million in federal funding — allotted from the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act — seeking companies to “establish and operate a CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute focused on digital twins for the semiconductor industry.” The plan for the CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute to establish a “regionally diverse” network to share resources with companies developing and manufacturing both physical semiconductors and digital twins.
Funded activities are expected to include, but not necessarily be limited to operational activities to run the Institute; basic and applied research related to semiconductor digital twin development; establishing and supporting shared physical and digital facilities; industry-relevant demonstration projects; and digital twin-related workforce training.
Digital twins are virtual representations of physical chips that mimic the real version and make it easier to test new processors before they’re put into production to find out how they might react to a boost in power or a different data configuration. According to the press release, digital twin-based research can also leverage tech like AI to speed up chip development and manufacturing in the US.
“Digital twin technology can help to spark innovation in research, development, and manufacturing of semiconductors across the country — but only if we invest in America’s understanding and ability of this new technology,” says Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a statement.
Biden administration officials have scheduled a May 16th date for briefings with interested parties this month to talk about the funding opportunities. The government will fund the operational activities of the institute, research around digital twins, physical and digital facilities like access to cloud environments, and workforce training.
The CHIPS Act passed in 2022 to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the country but has struggled to keep up with the capital demand. Raimondo previously said manufacturers requested more than $70 billion in grants, more than the $28 billion the government budgeted.
So far, companies like Intel and Micron are set to receive funding from the US government through the CHIPS Act. Part of the Biden administration’s goal with the CHIPS Act is to encourage semiconductor companies to build new types of processors in the US, especially now that demand for high-powered chips grew thanks to the AI boom.
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