Chip equipment makers, chemical companies, others now eligible for CHIPs Act funds
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The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday that it was expanding the eligibility for companies to receive funds from the U.S. CHIPs Act to include those that make semiconductor equipment and chemicals used for chip making.
"After the pandemic exposed holes and bottlenecks in our semiconductor supply chains that sent shockwaves across our economy, the CHIPS and Science Act is a historic opportunity to ensure our microchip supply chain resilience,â said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in a statement.
"Thanks to President Bidenâs Investing in America agenda, weâre already seeing billions in private sector investment bolster the semiconductor supply chain. Weâre laying out our vision for how weâll build on that progress by responsibly making investments to ensure resiliency and success for the clusters we will create."
The eligibility, which had previously been available only for companies such as Intel (INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM), opens the fund to companies such as Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and others.
The Commerce Department added on Friday that "nearly" 400 companies were interested in receiving funding from the CHIPs Act. 
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) wrote a letter to the Commerce Department last year that it was working with numerous global suppliers to build its fab in Phoenix, Arizona, including ASML (NASDAQ:ASML), Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research (LRCX) and others.
In April, it was reported that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) had pushed back on some of the controversial parts of the legislation, including the aspects that require profit-sharing measures for companies that "significantly exceed the projections" and the provision to include detailed measures of their operations.
In March, Wolfspeed (WOLF), based in Durham, North Carolina, said it would apply for funding from the U.S. CHIPs Act.
The $52.7B CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law last year by President Biden to reenergize the domestic semiconductor industry and includes $39B in semiconductor manufacturing incentives.
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