The CHIPS Act Two Years Later: Where the Money Went and What It Built

By Cole Rivera

The CHIPS and Science Act authorized $52.7 billion to revitalize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Two years into implementation, the money is flowing — but the results look different than many expected.

The headline investments are well known: Intel's $20 billion fabrication complex in Ohio, TSMC's Arizona fabs, Samsung's expansion in Texas. These mega-projects absorbed the majority of the Act's manufacturing incentives and will eventually produce leading-edge chips for consumer electronics and data centers.

The Industrial Semiconductor Gap

What has received less attention is the Act's impact — or lack thereof — on the industrial semiconductor supply chain. The chips that run PLCs, motor drives, sensor interfaces, and industrial communication networks are typically manufactured on older process nodes (28nm and above) that the CHIPS Act was not primarily designed to support.

The 2021-2022 chip shortage hit industrial automation particularly hard precisely because these mature-node chips were deprioritized by foundries chasing higher margins on advanced chips. The CHIPS Act's focus on leading-edge fabrication does little to address this structural vulnerability.

Bright Spots for Industrial

Some CHIPS Act funding has reached the industrial supply chain indirectly. GlobalFoundries, which specializes in mature-node manufacturing, received $1.5 billion to expand its facilities in New York and Vermont. Texas Instruments received $1.6 billion for new 300mm wafer fabs in Texas and Utah that will produce analog and embedded processing chips widely used in industrial applications.

The Act's workforce development provisions have also benefited the industrial sector. Community colleges in Ohio, Arizona, and Texas have launched semiconductor technician programs that feed workers into both advanced and mature-node fabrication facilities.

What Is Still Missing

Industry groups have called for a dedicated funding mechanism for mature-node semiconductor capacity — sometimes called "CHIPS Act 2.0" — that would specifically address the industrial and automotive supply chain. Without it, the U.S. remains vulnerable to the same type of shortage that paralyzed manufacturing in 2021.

The CHIPS Act was a necessary first step in reshoring semiconductor capacity. But for industrial manufacturers, the most critical supply chain vulnerabilities remain largely unaddressed. The next policy conversation needs to focus not just on the most advanced chips, but on the workhorses that keep factories running.