Report card for CHIPS Act incentives

During the last days of the Biden administration, the federal CHIPS Program Office released an update on its progress toward achieving its Vision for Success. Two years ago, we wrote about how the CHIPS programs, including the business incentives, would be assessed in our article, CHIPS for America Report Card. The 2025 progress update reports that the “investments are delivering results” against each of the program objectives:

Objective 1: The US will have at least two new large-scale clusters of leading-edge logic fabs with a multiple fabs, a robust supplier ecosystem, R&D facilities, specialized infrastructure, and a large, diverse, and skilled workforce with well-paying jobs. The update reports:

• The United States is fostering the creation of not just two, but four leading-edge logic clusters in Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas. 
• By 2030, the United States is on track to produce at least 20 percent of the world’s leading-edge logic chips.
• The United States is expected to have eight new leading-edge logic fabs by 2030, based on awards to TSMC, Intel and Samsung.

Objective 2: The US will be home to multiple high-volume advanced packaging facilities and be a global technology leader in commercial-scale advanced packaging for both logic and memory chips. 

• By 2030, the United States is on track to have at least three high-volume advanced packaging facilities for leading-edge logic and memory, based on awards to Amkor, Intel, and SK hynix.

Objective 3: US-based fabs will produce high-volume leading-edge dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips on economically competitive terms. R&D for next-generation memory technologies will be conducted in the US. 

• The United States is on track to produce roughly 10 percent of the world’s leading-edge DRAM chips by 2035, up from zero percent today, based on awards to Micron for fabs in New York and Idaho.

Objective 4: The US will have increased its production capacity for the current-generation and mature-node chips most vital to US economic and national security, with an emphasis on compound semiconductors and other specialty chips. 

• By 2030, the United States is positioned to have four new high-volume current-generation and mature-node fabrication facilities, onshoring the production of chips for state-of-the-art technologies through new facilities from Texas Instruments and GlobalFoundries.
• The United States is modernizing its existing U.S.-based production facilities to increase capacity, improve productivity, introduce new technologies, and meet competitive global standards with investments in facilities in Vermont, Minnesota and Virginia. 

Two other major goals are enabling the US to build a reliable and resilient semiconductor industry that protects America’s technological leadership for coming decades and serving as a good steward of taxpayer dollars, with transparency and accountability to taxpayers.

According the update: 

• These investments are strengthening national and economic security by restoring mass production of critical semiconductor technologies to U.S. soil. The United States is projected to produce at least 20 percent of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by 2030 (up from zero percent in 2022) and ~10% of its leading-edge DRAM chips by 2035 (also up from zero percent)—both technologies that are essential to the future of artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance compute, and advanced military systems.
• Beyond the leading-edge, CHIPS investments are dramatically expanding domestic production of current-generation and mature-node chips—components found in cars, medical devices, critical infrastructure, and defense systems—as well as scaling capacity of compound semiconductors and other specialty chips.
• Each CHIPS investment, including those finalized and in progress, reflects a steadfast commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars. Every award the CHIPS program negotiates is designed to fill strategic gaps in the domestic semiconductor ecosystem while spending the minimum amount necessary to deliver the maximum benefit to U.S. economic and national security. 
• On average, every dollar of CHIPS funding is catalyzing more than ten dollars of total investment, strategically leveraging public funding to drive private sector commitments and helping to ensure these investments remain sustainable in the long term. Furthermore, CPO’s taxpayer protections go beyond the initial allocation of funds: safeguards such as milestone-based funding and clawback provisions have been built into every award to ensure taxpayer dollars are disbursed as programmatic objectives are met.

We expect to see additional reporting going forward, as required by statute. In fact, there should be several levels of reporting, including annual reports to Congress, a program audit by the Department of Commerce inspector general not later than four years after the first award, and GAO reporting requirements on outcomes. We look forward to continuing to monitor the findings on the progress, outcomes and overall effectiveness of this interesting program.