Google Signs Deal with US Commerce Department to Boost Chip Production for Researchers

The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement with Google to develop chips for researchers. The chips that researchers use in the development of new nanotechnology and semiconductor device will be manufactured by SkyWater Technology. The Alphabet-owned company will pay for the initial cost of setting up production and subsidise the first production run. The announcement comes shortly after the US passed the CHIPS and Science Act that aims to boost semiconductor research and manufacturing in the country.

As per a blog post by NIST, the US government agency has reached a deal with Google to develop and produce chips that researchers can use to develop new nanotechnology and semiconductor devices.

NIST will design circuitry for the chips with university research partners such as the University of Michigan, the University of Maryland, George Washington University, Brown University and Carnegie Mellon University. The chips will be manufactured by SkyWater Technology at its semiconductor foundry in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The search giant will bear the initial cost of setting up production and will subsidise the first production run.

“NIST anticipates designing as many as 40 different chips optimised for different applications. Because the chip designs will be open source, researchers will be able to pursue new ideas without restriction and share data and device designs freely,” the Commerce Department said.

US President Joe Biden recently signed an order to implement the 2022 CHIPS Act that provides $52.7 billion (nearly Rs. 4,21,000 crore) in subsidies to encourage manufacturing of semiconductors and research in the US. It is also expected to boost the country’s competitive efforts against China’s science and technological developments.