New York state unveiled a $10 billion public-private partnership with computer chip-industry heavyweights such as IBM and Micron as it plans to build a semiconductor research and development center that it said will support the studies of the world’s most advanced and powerful chips.
The partnership, which also involves firms including Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron, will establish a chip center at nonprofit NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said in a statement. The partnership will fund the building of a High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center, billed as the first and only publicly owned such center in North America, that will support the research and development of the “innovative chip technology that powers nearly every smartphone, tablet, laptop, and computer server,” according to the statement.
“We’re building the future of semiconductor research right here in New York,” Hochul said, adding the partnership comes after a string of others, including Micron’s 2022 announcement that it’s investing $100 billion in building a memory manufacturing campus in Central New York. The plan is "to make New York a global chipmaking superpower,” she said.
Under the new initiative, NY CREATES will buy and install a High NA EUV lithography tool, designed and manufactured by Dutch company ASML, at its Albany NanoTech Complex, Hochul’s office said.
The partnership will “significantly” enhance New York state’s position as a leading candidate to secure anchor hub status under the federal National Semiconductor Technology Center, a designation Hochul’s office said holds the potential to unlock more than $11 billion in federal CHIPS and Science Act funding.
This project will leverage at least $9 billion in private spending and investment, with the state investing $1 billion. The partnership also includes the building of a cleanroom space spanning more than 50,000 square feet.
“The new High NA EUV Center at Albany NanoTech will secure a strong pipeline for semiconductor innovation, keeping New York State at the center of semiconductor expertise, accelerating the growth of the global chip industry and helping to meet manufacturing demand for new technologies such as generative AI,” IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said in the statement.