The Biden administration will grant roughly $285 million in funding from the CHIPS for America Program for development and research of digital twins in the semiconductor industry, the Commerce Department and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced Monday.
The latest announcement for the notice of funding opportunity is part of the push from the U.S. to boost domestic production of semiconductors.
The funding will go towards establishing and operating a CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute that will be focused on digital twins for the semiconductor industry.
A digital twin can exist in the cloud and can create opportunities to speed up innovation and reduce costs of research and development. It can also leverage emerging technology, like artificial intelligence, to accelerate design of chip development, the administration said in the announcement.
“This new Manufacturing USA institute will not only help to make America a leader in developing this new technology for the semiconductor industry, it will also help train the next generation of American workers and researchers to use digital twins for future advances in R&D and production of chips,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio said in a statement that digital twin technology will help “transform the semiconductor industry.”
“This is a prime example of how CHIPS for America is bringing research institutions and industry partners together in public private partnership to enable rapid adoption of innovations that will enhance domestic competitiveness for decades to come,” Locascio added.
The CHIPS Manufacturing USA Program will host a one-day hybrid meeting for potential applications for the funding next Thursday.