Austin, TX

Will Central Texas semiconductor scene be rewarded with CHIPS Act funding? Experts say yes

Published

2 years ago

March 4, 2024

Will Central Texas semiconductor scene be rewarded with CHIPS Act funding? Experts say yes

It still remains to be seen if Austin-area projects will benefit from legislation designed to boost the semiconductor industry, as the Commerce Department starts announcing as soon as this month which companies will be awarded funding.

Central Texas is among a handful of regions expected to see a boost from the Chips and Science Act, which was passed in 2022. The legislation made $52 billion available for companies that manufacture computer chips, billions more in tax credits to incentivize chip manufacturing, and tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development of other U.S. technologies.

So far, no projects in Texas have been included in the first handful of announcements made by the Commerce Department, but local industry leaders remain optimistic in the Austin-area’s ability to compete with the hundreds of projects waiting to see if they will receive the remaining funding.

Ed Latson, CEO of Opportunity Austin, said he anticipates the funding to make a major impact in Central Texas, which is already home to facilities from companies including Samsung Semiconductor, NXP, Tokyo Electron and Infineon.

“I expect to see grants being issued to local companies soon,” Latson said. “We have one of the most dynamic semiconductor ecosystems in the United States and this will only make us more competitive as a region and as a country.”

Kevin Fincher, CEO of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, agreed that the region remains in a strong position.

“I believe that Central Texas will lead in the semi-industry going forward, and we’re well positioned for that,” Fincher said.

The Austin-area’s existing ecosystem of companies in the semiconductor industry includes fabrication facilities that make chips, toolmakers and a supply base that works with the toolmakers and fabrication facilities.

Fincher predicted that Central Texas projects could hear about funding awards as early as March.

“We expect in the in the coming month, March, that there is going to be a slew of announcements that will start to come out,” Fincher said. “I think Commerce is finalizing the applications and we are going to hear some pretty hopefully exciting announcements coming, which will impact some of the companies working here or that have operations here.”

Even before the passage of the CHIPS Act, the Central Texas region has been poised to see big expansions to its manufacturing capacity. Samsung, which already had two fabs in Austin, announced last year that it planned to build a $17 billion chip factory in Taylor. Filings also show the company could put as many as 11 additional fabrication facilities in Central Texas in the coming decades, though the company has said it does not have concrete plans.

Semiconductor giant NXP also has been considering an expansion in Austin. Last year, the Austin City Council approved an incentive deal worth just over a million dollars. Following Raimondo’s speech, the company said it continues to engage with the Commerce Department on its proposals.

“While we cannot indicate a timeline with certainty, we understand the process could take a number of months and we are optimistic that the proposed expansion would meet the program goals,” a company spokesperson said. “We are pleased there continues to be an ongoing dialogue and movement on the need to support the industry.”

Fincher predicted investment will continue, both in company growth and in the workforce needed to support these companies.

Samsung to partner with UT engineering school, donate $3.7M to aid semiconductor workforce

CHIPS Act funding is leading to ‘tough conversations’

During a February 4 event hosted by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said there are “tough conversations” as the department works on distributing the funding. During the event, Raimondo also said the department would now be prioritizing projects that will be operational by 2030.

The changes came as leading-edge companies requested about $70 billion in funding, or about double the amount in federal subsidies available. So far, Commerce has announced about $2.5 billion in funding to three companies BAE, Microchip, and Global Foundries

Raimondo said while there’s risk in picking winners and losers, there is “way more risk in doing nothing” and said there will likely need to be another CHIPS Act in the future to continue to boost the industry.

“We’re going to have to say no to excellent companies with excellent proposals,” Raimondo said.

Raimondo acknowledged during the CISA event that companies were also likely frustrated to receive less funding than they were hoping.

While acknowledging that there have been project delays nationally that may be related to the rollout of funding, Matt Bryson, an industry analyst with Wedbush Securities, has already been working as intended.

“We’ve seen arguably a historic amount of chip infrastructure investment planned for the U.S., including from a number of companies that either had never invested in the U.S. or who had chosen not to invest in U.S. fabs in recent years,” he said.

He added, the focus on projects that will be completed by 2030 makes sense.

“If the goal is to accelerate investment, I think it necessarily makes sense to prioritize the bird in hand so to speak, vs. investment plans that are further out and that might not come to fruition,” Bryson said.

Fincher, of ARMA, said Central Texas will likely benefit from the 2030 timeline.

“We are very much in the right spot,” he said. “Most of the companies that we’re looking at will be set up and operational and running by then. So, I think that’s an advantage right now to our manufacturing sector here in Central Texas.”

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Austin, TX

Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry reignites excitement among fans tailgating for game

Published

14 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry reignites excitement among fans tailgating for game

AUSTIN, Texas — The excitement around the Texas vs. Texas A&M game returned to the 40 acres this weekend. After students camped outside the stadium to secure prime seats, the tailgate lots were full up with Longhorns and Aggies fans alike.

“Go Horns!” exclaimed Darrick Price from UT Tailgaters, celebrating the reunion with “little brother.” Laura McWha, a Texas A&M fan, added, “WHOOP!!” as Aggies traveled from College Station for the game.

Price noted, “It feels amazing. We’re so happy that little brother’s back in town.” The rivalry, restored last year, has friends and family rooting against each other in what is the biggest home game for Texas this year. “I have a senior now who’s considering which school he wants to go to, and I just think it means everything for this city,” Price said.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE| Longhorns vs. Aggies tickets soar as fans prepare for epic showdown

McWha expressed confidence, saying, “We’ve been doing great this season….We’re gonna show what we’ve got.”

This was about as fiery as the smack talk got today as fans enjoyed communing with their frenemies in the lots.

Lanece Marley, another A&M fan, shared, “I think it’s wonderful. We love coming. We love celebrating with these guys.”

Hannah Morgan, an Austin-native and Aggie grad, reflected on her divided household, saying, “Oh yes I know what it means. It means everything to us.” With a father and brother who went to UT-Austin, Morgan says she successfully converted her mother over to rooting for the Aggies. Morgan also anticipated the game, stating, “I think it’s going to be really sweet to get revenge… to beat them at home would be a big deal for us.”

Texas won last year’s matchup in College Station, which was the first meeting between the two schools since 2011.

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Austin, TX

Texas A&M Corps of Cadets carrying the Lone Star Showdown game ball to Austin

Published

1 day ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Texas A&M Corps of Cadets carrying the Lone Star Showdown game ball to Austin

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Football is a big tradition on Thanksgiving Day, and while the Aggies didn’t play, the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets were helping the team get ready by going on a journey to Austin.

Around 80 members of the corps gathered at a lot near Kyle Field at 7:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, where they would begin a 100-mile relay-style event. Broken up into teams, they’ll run to the Corps’ march staging area in Austin, escorted by police, with the plan to be there by 11 a.m.

From there, they will march in with the fightin’ Texas Aggie Band to finish the delivery.

“The goal of this is to be able to inspire the next generation of Aggies and to be able to encourage the entire campus. The entire Aggie network is brought together because we, as the Corps, were inspiring and helping our Aggie team, the football team, as they get ready to take on Texas,” said Carson Seiber, a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and event coordinator.

Seiber said since he was a freshman who learned A&M would be playing Texas in Austin his senior year, it was his dream to bring back the tradition that he said started over two decades ago.

“I had this dream, and I kind of talked to people, and now that it’s my senior year, I really had an idea about why not bring the tradition back, why not kind of leave a mark, leave a legacy on the Corp and Texas A&M that hasn’t really happened in a long time,” Seiber said.

The plan really finalized itself about a week ago, but was pitched two months ago. He said what really separates Texas A&M University from every other school is its core values.

“I think it’s been really cool to see the fact that when the Aggies are successful, we see our Aggies support each other, but also in times when are Aggies have not been good at football or tragedies like bonefire, our Aggies are there in victory or defeat,” Seiber said.

The Aggies will take on the Texas Longhorns tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

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Austin, TX

Taylor residents sue to halt proposed data center

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

Taylor residents sue to halt proposed data center

TAYLOR, Texas — A proposed data center in Central Texas is getting a lot of pushback from residents. Approximately 40 minutes north of Austin, a group of neighbors in the city of Taylor sued the data center. They are pushing back against the data center that could soon be under construction roughly 500 feet from their neighborhood.

“This property is supposed to be deeded for parkland,” said Pamela Griffin, a resident in the neighborhood next to where the data center will be built. “This land was given to this community.”

The 87-acre land near Griffin’s community is embroiled in a legal battle between her and Blueprint Data Centers.

“We do not need a data center,” Griffin said. “I’m not against them, but we don’t need them in our community.”

Despite Griffin’s land deed lawsuit, a Texas judge has ruled in favor of the proposed project.

“When a judge dismisses a lawsuit because the plaintiff or the plaintiffs lack standing, what the judge means is you’re not a person who has the legal authority to bring this lawsuit,” said Mike Golden, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Griffin and other neighbors argue the data center will take away natural resources like water and what was supposed to be the future site of a park, so her fight is not over.

“We are going to the appellate court now,” Griffin said. “We did file.”

Griffin is passionate about advocating for the community because it’s the neighborhood she was born and raised in. Her grandmother bought property there in the early 1960s, and the community became a safe haven for Black people in Taylor.

“We weren’t allowed to be in the city limits at that time because they would not sell to the Black and brown community, so my grandmother realized they had to buy land outside,” she said.

She worries about the future of her small community now that construction of a 135,000-square-foot data center will begin within the next year.

It’s a project the city says will bring millions in revenue to Taylor.

“What data centers do to a community is it brings an influx of new revenue to all the taxing entities, including the city, the county and especially the school district,” said Ben White, the president and CEO of the Taylor Economic Development Corporation.

He explained how the revenue might benefit the city.

“City council will have the ultimate say on how those revenues are spent, but it could involve new parks for citizens, improve streets for the citizens, improve programs for the citizens,” he said. “There’ll be a lot of variety of different uses of those funds the council could decide to use them on.”

White also addressed the controversy surrounding the deed when asked about it by Spectrum News.

“We feel comfortable that EDC, we did everything correctly on our side,” he said.

Griffin now awaits the Third Court of Appeals to decide on her case.

“I’m asking for the community and the Taylor people to stick together and understand my fight against this data center coming into our community,” Griffin said.

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