Corning, the maker of Gorilla Glass, is set to receive up to $32 million in funding under the CHIPS and Science Act. In an announcement on Friday, the US Commerce Department said the proposed funding will help Corning increase production of its glass products used in the chip-making process.
The announcement comes just days after the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into Corning over whether it uses exclusive supply agreements to stifle competition. Both Samsung and Apple use Corning’s ultra-tough alkali-aluminosilicate glass — or Gorilla Glass — on their phones, tablets, and smartwatches.
However, the proposed CHIPS Act funding doesn’t have anything to do with Gorilla Glass. Corning will put the funding toward the production of its High Purity Fused Silica and Extreme Ultra-Low Expansion Glass. As noted in the press release, both types of glass are used in lithography machines and photomasks used to image a chip’s pattern onto a silicon wafer. It will also allow Corning to “scale a novel manufacturing process” in its Canton, New York plant, which is expected to create 130 new manufacturing jobs and more than 175 construction jobs.
Signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, the CHIPS Act is supposed to bolster semiconductor manufacturing in the US. And now, Bloomberg reports that the Biden administration is scrambling to issue final grants as its time in office runs out. The future of the CHIPS Act under President-Elect Donald Trump remains unclear. Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) walked back a statement saying Republicans would “repeal” the legislation, instead saying they would “streamline” it.
(Originally posted by Emma Roth)