Taiwan-based Sino-American Silicon Products’ subsidiary, GlobalWafers, announced on Friday that it received just over $200 million from the U.S. CHIPS Act in June, representing about half of a previously awarded grant aimed at expanding silicon wafer manufacturing in the United States. The funding is part of a larger $406 million grant announced last December by the Biden administration to support projects in Texas and Missouri designed to significantly increase U.S. production capacity for silicon wafers.
The grant’s disbursement has faced uncertainty following skepticism from the Trump administration, which indicated that some CHIPS Act awards might be renegotiated or canceled. In June, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also suggested that some of the awards could be cut. However, GlobalWafers clarified in May that the total grant would be released incrementally upon reaching key development milestones.
GlobalWafers opened its new $3.5 billion wafer fabrication plant in Sherman, Texas, in May—a project that was initially announced in 2022. This facility is central to the company’s U.S. expansion strategy, and it recently revealed a partnership with Apple, which committed an additional $100 billion in U.S. investments. Under this collaboration, GlobalWafers will supply 300mm silicon wafers produced at the Texas plant to support Apple’s manufacturing needs.
During an earnings call, Sino-American Silicon Products and GlobalWafers Chairwoman Doris Hsu expressed optimism about the partnership and domestic market growth. “If U.S. demand continues to grow, we will not rule out (accelerating) the next phase of expansion,” she said, indicating potential further investments to meet increasing demand.
The ongoing support from the CHIPS Act and partnerships with major tech players like Apple underline GlobalWafers’ commitment to strengthening U.S. semiconductor supply chains amid global industry shifts.
