The U.S. Is Building CHIPS Act Fabs but Neglecting R&D

On 6 August, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the state of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act , a bipartisan federal law passed under the Biden administration to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and R&D. While manufacturing projects funded by the act are making notable progress, the money earmarked for R&D remains mostly unused, and the Department of Commerce, which administers the funds, has not published a plan for meeting the requirements of the law, according to the report. GAO says this lapse could put the U.S. at risk of missing out on the opportunity to advance semiconductor tech. The industry experts we spoke with agree with GAO’s assessment. That includes Donna Dubinsky , serial entrepreneur and former Commerce Department official. “We need to