US and Google Sign a Contract to Create Research Chip Technology

The US Department of Commerce signs an agreement with Google to produce chips for researchers to develop nanotechnology and devices

Washington: The US Commerce Department said it has entered into a collaborative research and development agreement with Alphabet Inc’s Google subsidiary to produce chips that researchers can use to develop new semiconductor and nanotechnology devices.

The agreement was signed between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the Department of Commerce and Google. The department said Tuesday that the chips will be made by SkyWater Technology Semiconductor of Bloomington, Minn., a semiconductor foundry.

Google will pay the initial cost of creating the production and support the first run of the production, according to the agreement. NIST, with university research partners, will design the circuitry for the chips.

Congress recently passed the Biden administration’s Science and Chips Act and signed it into law. Authorizes funding to start domestic production of semiconductors in response to supply chain disruptions.

A number of companies announced new semiconductor fabs as a result of the passage of the legislation, which allowed about $52 billion in government subsidies for US semiconductor production and research, and an investment tax credit for chip makers. estimated at $24 billion.

“NIST expects to design up to 40 different chips optimized for different applications. Because the chip designs will be open source, researchers will be able to pursue new ideas without restriction and freely share data and device designs,” the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Research partners contributing to chip designs include the University of Michigan, the University of Maryland, George Washington University, Brown University, and Carnegie Mellon University, the statement added.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

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