News: Microelectronics
24 January 2025
MACOM signs preliminary memorandum of terms for US CHIPS Act funding
MACOM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which designs and makes RF, microwave, analog and mixed-signal and optical semiconductor technologies for the commercial and defense sectors) has signed a preliminary memorandum of terms with the US federal government for funding under the CHIPS for America program.
Announced on 14 January by the US Department of Commerce, the proposed funding will include support for a project to expand and modernize MACOM’s Lowell manufacturing facility and semiconductor wafer foundry with new cleanrooms, equipment, wafer fabrication stations, chip-level packaging, and test capacity. The new project is estimated to add up to 150 new jobs, two-thirds of which are expected to be skilled positions. The expansion will require the addition of technicians, engineers, program managers, sales and maintenance positions that will be filled through partnerships with local educational institutions, including UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst.
In addition to the federal funding terms announced, the $172m project will be supported by an expected $15.7m from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) as well as other federal tax incentives and private investment from MACOM. These incentives are contingent upon MACOM finalizing their federal funding award.
This is the second major microelectronics announcement in Lowell in the past year following the launch in March 2024 of the new Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC) project, a public–private partnership that aims to bring technology jobs and housing to the city. The project will include the establishment of a new research building on UMass Lowell’s East Campus that will house the microelectronics division of Cambridge’s Draper Laboratory.
“Through MACOM’s expansion, coupled with the LINC project, we have the opportunity to transform Lowell and the Merrimack Valley into a powerhouse for microelectronics and semiconductor development,” believes Massachusetts Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. “By adding critical domestic production and increasing our talent pool of highly qualified workers we will advance our standing in the CHIPS community,” she adds.
In May 2023, MassTech launched an online portal that created a ‘digital front door’ for Massachusetts companies to request state support, a key requirement of the grant programs established under the CHIPS and Science Act. The portal was constructed in partnership with the Executive Office of Economic Development, the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) and other state agencies that helped to streamline the process to engage with state funding options.
“Innovative companies like MACOM are strategically focused on expanding microelectronics capacities in both commercial and defense applications,” notes Massachusetts Technology Collaborative deputy director & chief investment strategist Ben Linville-Engler. “Their pursuits of CHIPS funding are being strengthened by the state’s federal matching commitment.”
The Massachusetts-based incentives are part of the state’s efforts to bolster state-based organizations pursuing US CHIPS and Science Act funding. In addition to support for individual submissions to the US Department of Commerce’s incentive program, the state is also managing CHIPS-related investments through the work of the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub, a division of MassTech that is leading a regional collaboration of more than 200 organizations, including MACOM. The Northeast has been the recipient of a number of other CHIPS-funded awards, including:
- A $37.8m Microelectronics Commons award to the NEMC Hub to advance the development of microelectronics technologies in the Northeast.
- The launch of NEMC Hub’ $2.5m Powering Regional Opportunities for Prototyping Microelectronics (PROPEL) program to help startups and small businesses to defray development costs, helping to accelerate the lab-to-fab transition of innovative microelectronics technologies.
- $1.5m to boost four workforce development, education and student engagement programs across the Northeast.
- A $7.7m award to establish new ‘open access’ advanced nano-fabrication capability within the MIT.Nano research hub in Cambridge, a collaborative project with Applied Materials.
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