How Georgia aims to become the Silicon Valley of the South

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Semiconductor production is booming across the nation, including right here in Georgia.

Semiconductors power nearly every piece of technology you interact with throughout the day.

Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock recently announced $75 million in funding to strengthen semiconductor production in the state.

It’s part of legislation dedicated to rebuilding America’s place as a global manufacturer.

“This is going to be part of the industry of the future,” said Heather Boushey, chief economist for President Joe Biden’s Invest in America Cabinet.

That future is already here. Most Americans do not need to understand the science behind semiconductors. They just know they power everything from phones to computers to the ability to read this story.

“From smartphones to automobiles to washing machines, chips are all around us,” Warnock told a crowd gathered at Absolics in Covington on Friday.

The gathering included city and county leaders, Warnock and Ossoff, and Korean business partners from Absolics parent company SKC.

“We have allowed strategic, advanced manufacturing to whither in this country,” Ossoff said, which is why the $75 million infusion, part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, is a big deal.

In 1990, the United States produced 37% of all semiconductors. Now, it’s at 10%, a fraction of what economic rival China produces.

“In 2021, when inflation spiked, we now know that one-third of that was because of semiconductor shortages,” Boushey said.

Remember when cars were impossible to find during the pandemic? It was because of a semiconductor chip shortage.

“That puts the American economy and our national security at risk,” Boushey said.

Over $50 billion has been dedicated to reigniting the semiconductor industry and its supply chain.

Ossoff and Warnock see Georgia as a crucial player.

“It’s good to see Georgians not only help to decide the direction of our nation’s future but to be doing the work to make it possible,” Warnock said.

And as the chip industry continues to boom, Georgia has its eye on becoming the “Silicon Valley of the South.”

“All of this is the product of sound economic and national security policy,” Ossoff said.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.