Texas
With $1.4 billion investment, Texas hopes to sprint to the front of the microchip manufacturing race
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Leaders in the semiconductor industry and their Texas allies were alarmed by supply chain disruptions to the sector during the pandemic. Now the state is seeking to turn the lessons learned in the past three years into an opportunity.
Texas is pumping $1.4 billion into microchip research and manufacturing initiatives in an effort to attract new investments, secure lucrative federal grants and create thousands of high-paying jobs over the next decade.
On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott approved the Texas CHIPS Act, which will create the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, a pot of money that will subsidize companies that manufacture chips in Texas and provide matching funds to universities and other state entities that invest in chip design or manufacturing projects.
Lawmakers this year appropriated $698.3 million for the new fund and an additional $666.4 million for the creation of advanced research and development centers at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University.
The investment illustrates the state’s commitment to the national race to capture billions of dollars in federal funds for the industry.
Last August, President Joe Biden signed the federal CHIPS and Science Act, allocating $52 billion to spur semiconductor manufacturing in the country. The law seeks to encourage private investment in the sector by offering subsidies for companies that build new or expand manufacturing facilities and by helping pay for new research and development projects.
States have a role to play in the federal government’s strategy, especially in the training and development of the workforce needed, according to industry experts. And Texas stands out on the national stage because it already has one of the most robust ecosystems in the semiconductor industry.
The federal CHIPS Act seeks to encourage the reshoring of semiconductor manufacturing, which means bringing chip factories back to the country. The U.S. depends heavily on chip imports, especially from Taiwan and South Korea. And the possibility of China invading Taiwan — a territory that has declared its independence and has its own government, but which Beijing still considers part of China — has raised alarms about its impact on the supply of semiconductors.
Reliance on chip imports is risky, as was evident during the pandemic. Disruptions in global supply chains led to microchip shortages, which in turn caused shockwaves across the U.S. economy. Semiconductors are increasingly present in everyday life, not only in phones or laptops. They have become key components in everything from cars and ATMs to washing machines.
The national security system and the intelligence community also depend heavily on semiconductors, said William Inboden, executive director of the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin.
“In the 19th century, the key ingredient of military power was gunpowder. In the 20th century, it was petroleum, and now it is semiconductors,” Inboden said.
Inboden said he is generally skeptical of the government intervening in the economy but added that he supported the federal CHIPS law and the Texas economic package because of the importance of the microchip industry to national security. Inboden also said that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could cause a “catastrophic depression” in the U.S. and that the country should take preventive measures.
The federal CHIPS Act could create 100,000 new high-paying jobs in the U.S. by the end of the decade, industry experts estimate. Where investments and jobs take root depends largely on the policies of each state.
Semiconductor companies have already promised $215 billion in investments and the creation of 40,000 jobs across the country in response to the federal CHIPS Act, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Sixty billion of these investments will land in Texas, where six projects that will create 8,000 jobs in the sector have already been announced. Texas is the second state with the most planned projects, after Arizona.
Two of the Texas projects will create new semiconductor fabs, as microchip fabrication facilities are known. Samsung Electronics will build one in Taylor, representing a $17.3 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs; and Texas Instruments will build the other in Sherman, a $30 billion project that will hire 3,000 workers between now and 2035. Another three are expansions of existing semiconductor factories: Texas Instruments in Richardson, NXP in Austin and X-FAB in Lubbock. The last project will build a Global Wafers facility in Sherman dedicated to silicon wafer manufacturing.
Microchip companies currently have 54 facilities in the state. With about 45,000 workers, Texas has the second-largest workforce in the industry, only behind California, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. The state is aiming to reach the top position by 2030.
Industry experts said Texas’ $1.4 billion CHIPS Act is one of the most significant financial packages in the country, and one that meets the U.S. Department of Commerce’s expectations for states’ role in this sector.
Texas public coffers will fund two research and manufacturing centers at the state’s flagship universities, which will have two goals: to put Texas at the forefront of advancing technologies and to develop the necessary workforce for the industry. Finding highly skilled workers is one of the biggest challenges to bringing chip manufacturing back to the U.S.
UT-Austin will receive $440 million to build fabs, which will be part of the Texas Institute for Electronics, a public-private partnership launched in 2022 that plans to become a nonprofit, independent organization this year. TIE focuses on the manufacture of the shells that contain microchips, a process known as packaging.
Packaging used to be considered a low-value part of the supply chain, but that is changing, according to S.V. Sreenivasan, director of TIE.
In recent decades, chips have become smaller and increased in capacity at an accelerated rate, but the pace of improvement is slowing down, Sreenivasan said. TIE aims to develop advanced packaging systems, which includes putting different types of technologies on the same chip. U.S. companies dominate the microchip design stages but manufacture only 12% of the circuits and make 3% of the packaging, Sreenivasan noted. That puts the country in a vulnerable position if the transnational supply chain is disrupted, he said.
Texas A&M will receive $200 million to build fabs for quantum and artificial intelligence chip fabrication and about $26.4 million for the Center for Microdevices and Systems, which will work to develop the next generation of chips, according to Yossef Elabd, vice chancellor for research at Texas A&M.
“We are focused on the new chemistry, the new materials, the new processes and the next version of the chip,” Elabd said.
The facilities at both universities do not aim to manufacture chips for commercialization; instead, they will focus on piloting new products that meet market standards and training the future technicians, engineers and leaders of the industry. Semiconductor companies are giving feedback to UT-Austin and A&M about what kind of facilities they need to build and what they should teach students to be prepared for working in this business.
Elabd said Texas is in a good position to attract new investment and federal funds.
“Most semiconductor companies are already in Texas, a lot of funding is in Texas, we are a very business-friendly state and Texas A&M is the No. 1 school in the country for engineering production. It is the best place for chip production growth,” he said. “The $1.4 billion investment is a huge message to the entire community that Texas wants to lead the way.”
Disclosure: Texas A&M University, Texas Instruments and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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Texas
Texas Football Ranked Among the Top Offenses in the New EA CFB 25 Game
As a part of its rankings week showcase, EA has released its top offenses for the new EA CFB 25 game, with the Texas Longhorns tying for the third-highest-rated squad in this year’s game.
Texas was given a 91-rated offense, tying with Alabama for the third spot. The two teams ahead of the Longhorns and Crimson Tide are Georgia and Oregon, who share the top spot with a 94 overall rating.
Texas looks to feature one of the best offenses in real life in 2024, which will lead to exciting gameplay for the first college football game in over a decade. Just two returning Power Five quarterbacks had more passing yards in 2024 than Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, and he’ll have the privilege of throwing to the transfer portal’s top receiver Isaiah Bond in the upcoming year.
The offensive line is also one of the best in the nation, ranking inside the top five of rankings from sites like On3, PFF, and 247. Behind that line will be runningbacks CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue, who combined for 1,057 rushing yards on over five yards per carry in 2023. The Texas offense is filled from top to bottom with playmakers, likely making them one of the deepest offenses to play within the game.
At the quarterback position, Ewers will likely be one of the three highest-rated passers, especially given his status as the cover athlete, and is backed up by Arch Manning, who sadly won’t be in the game due to him opting out. Whether they replace him with an auto-generated player or just leave him out, freshman Trey Owens will be a fine backup in the game.
The running back room not only features Baxter, the No. 1 rusher in the class of 2023, and Blue, but also Tre Wisner, who averaged six yards per carry last year, and the No. 3 running back in the class of 2024, Jerrick Gibson. Baxter will be the highest rated of the group, but the other three rushers will likely be pushing above 95 speed, making them perfect for a simulation football game.
In the receiving core, Bond is joined by two other transfer receivers Matthew Golden and Silas Bolden. Both pass-catchers were rated as four-star or higher transfers, and tight end Amari Niblack was the top tight end transfer in the country. Returning for the Longhorns are sophomore stud wide receivers Johntay Cook, DeAndre Moore, and Ryan Niblett, while five-star freshman Ryan Wingo will bring verticality to the team.
This offense will not only be one of the highest rated but also the most fun teams in the game. With the bountiful playbook of head coach Steve Sarkisian and his love for players with speed, it’ll be hard to slow down an offense like this.
Texas
Texas lt. gov. warns of Biden's border inaction after Jocelyn Nungaray's murder: 'It can happen to you'
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick warned of the deadly consequences of the border crisis, calling out President Biden for failing to “seal the border with Mexico right now” following the brutal murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.
“If Joe Biden had any compassion at all for this family or the families of Laken Riley or Rachel Morin and others who have been killed… he would secure the border on Thursday, the day of [Nungaray’s] funeral,” Patrick told “America’s Newsroom,” Wednesday.
“This little girl, she was tortured, she was strangled, and she was thrown in the river like a rag doll,” he continued. “Now I want America to wake up. This can come to your wife, your daughter, your sister, your grandmother. It can happen to you. There are animals roaming this country today because of Joe Biden, and these three women I just named would all be alive today – today – if it weren’t for Joe Biden. The blood is on his hands.”
MIGRANT ARRESTED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT RAPE OF 13-YEAR-OLD IN NEW YORK PARK
Prosecutors said Tuesday that two illegal immigrants from Venezuela allegedly lured the Houston girl under a bridge where they sexually assaulted her before tying her up and killing her.
Johan Jose Rangel Martinez, 21, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, have each been charged with capital murder.
“While we’re there, looking at the casket and praying for this family, [Biden] will be letting more animals like the two that allegedly killed her into this country,” Patrick remarked.
The Texas Republican urged former President Trump to confront Biden at Thursday night’s CNN Presidential Debate on the result of his border policies.
“I would ask President Biden, ‘can you tell me who Rachel Morin is? Can you tell me who Jocelyn is? Can you tell me who Laken Riley is?’ And Joe Biden has a choice. He could either say, ‘Yes, there are three people who should be alive today except for my border policies,’ or, ’I don’t know who they are,’” he said.
Jocelyn’s mother, Alexis Nungaray, tearfully told “Hannity” on Tuesday that “we have to stop burying our kids.”
“This isn’t right. We have to have more reinforcement when it comes to letting people in. This is not okay,” she said.
Pena Ramos illegally crossed into El Paso, Texas, in May, sources with the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Fox News. He was caught by Border Patrol agents and was released into the U.S. with a Notice to Appear in court.
Rangel Martinez also crossed illegally into El Paso in March and was caught by Border Patrol. He was released into the U.S. on an unknown basis.
Pena Ramos was wearing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) ankle bracelet at the time of the crime – a detail highlighted by Jocelyn’s grandfather, Kelvin Alvarenga, during the “Hannity” interview.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News in a statement Friday that he “illegally entered the U.S. without inspection, parole or admission by a U.S. immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location.”
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg described the city of Houston as a “huge international hub” that draws in people from all over the country.
“Unfortunately, we see a great deal of violence committed by illegal immigrants, and we see as many victimized by other illegals and regular people here. It’s an enormous problem. This was bound to happen,” Ogg told Fox News on Tuesday. “It’s one of those things that, as an elected prosecutor, you are just waiting for [the] other shoe to drop. I’m just sick and sickened this little girl was the innocent victim of these two monsters.”
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Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Bill Melugin, Griff Jenkins, Yael Halon and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
Texas
Texas A&M hit with transfer portal exodus after Jim Schlossnagle’s exit
The ripple effect of Jim Schlossnagle’s shocking departure from College Station to Austin is just beginning.
One day after Schlossnagle accepted an offer to become the next head coach at Texas and two days after Texas A&M lost the College World Series final, 11 Texas A&M players have entered the transfer portal, according to The Athletic’s Max Olson. Six of those players were starters for the Aggies in the College World Series against Tennessee.
Here’s the current list of Texas A&M players in the portal (bolded names started in Monday’s CWS finale):
- Jace LaViolette
- Gavin Grahovac
- Kaeden Kent
- Jack Bell
- Max Kaufer
- Hayden Schott
- Caden Sorrell
- Jett Johnston
- Ali Camarillo
- Justin Vossos
- Carl Schmidt
According to the NCAA’s transfer rules, players are given a 30-day transfer window when a head coach leaves.
LaViolette was an All-American, is widely considered the top prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft, and hit 29 home runs for the Aggies this season. Grahovac was just named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year after posting a 1.051 OPS with 19 homers. Schott posted a .916 OPS while Camarillo was the Aggies’ starting shortstop.
This is quite the turn for LaViolette. When the news of Schlossnagle’s departure came out, LaViolette posted the following on Twitter/X:
“Thank you @12thMan from the bottom of my heart for everything y’all did for us throughout the year, if you’re in the portal your missing out if you don’t want to be apart of the best university in the nation. this is where people come to be great! Let’s go get it done next year!”
Kent became one of the stars of the College World Series when he stepped up in Braden Montgomery’s absence. The son of former major leaguer Jeff Kent was selected to the CWS All-Tournament.
It remains to be seen if these players are following Schlossnagle to the Longhorns.
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