Semiconductor giant Intel Corporation has already received $2.2 billion in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, the company shared during its Thursday earnings call.
Dave Zinsner, Intel’s co-interim CEO, executive vice president, and CFO, said the Silicon Valley-based company received the first tranche of $1.1 billion in federal grants at the end of 2024 and an additional $1.1 billion in January 2025.
These grants are based on reaching certain milestones, Zinsner added. Another $5.66 billion has yet to be dispersed.
The company was awarded a total of $7.86 billion in federal grants to build semiconductors in the U.S. in November as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. While a sizable sum, this total was less than the original $8.5 billion estimate.
When Intel was awarded its grant money in November, the company said it was planning to put the funds toward manufacturing and advanced packaging, or toward techniques to assemble and integrate multiple semiconductor chips into one package. This will be carried out at Intel facilities across Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon.
The U.S. CHIPS and Science Act was signed into federal law by former president Joe Biden in 2022 in an effort to increase domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The act set aside $52 billion in subsidies for domestic chip manufacturers.
While already two years old, the CHIPS Act faces some uncertainty under the Trump administration. If President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze, which is currently being blocked by a federal judge, does go into effect, it would affect the Commerce Department employees focused on the CHIPS Act, according to Bloomberg reporting.
Zinsner had a rosier outlook, though. When asked by an analyst, he said that Intel has already been in communication with the Trump administration and “feels really good” about the administration’s outlook on bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States.
“We look forward to continued engagement with the Trump administration as we advance this work and support their efforts to strengthen U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership,” Zinsner said earlier on the call.
Published by: Rebecca Szkutak
