GlobalFoundries Receives $1.5 Billion in First U.S. CHIPS Grant

GlobalFoundries has been selected to receive the first major grant in the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act program to reinvigorate U.S. chip production. The $1.5 billion in grants will be used to construct and expand facilities in Vermont and New York. Additionally, the administration plans to make available $1.6 billion in federal loans. The grants are estimated to triple GlobalFoundries’ New York state production capacity within the next 10 years. Chipmakers including Intel, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics and TSMC have submitted grant applications for government assistance in building new or updating existing facilities. Continue reading GlobalFoundries Receives $1.5 Billion in First U.S. CHIPS Grant

U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium Debuts with 200 Members

The U.S. has established the AI Safety Institute Consortium (AISIC), uniting artificial intelligence researchers, creators, academics and other users across government, industry and civil society organizations to support the development and deployment of safe and trustworthy AI. The group launches with more than 200 member entities ranging from tech giants Google, Microsoft and Amazon to AI-first firms OpenAI, Cohere and Anthropic. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the move the day after naming Elizabeth Kelly director of the new U.S. AI Safety Institute, housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Continue reading U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium Debuts with 200 Members

White House Launches New Spectrum Strategy, 3 GHz Study

Following extensive public outreach, the White House has released a National Spectrum Strategy that includes a study of uses for the lower 3 GHz band and identifies 2,786 MHz of airwaves that will be studied for new uses. Near term, the strategy proposes five spectrum bands for further in-depth study. President Biden has called wireless frequencies one of “our Nation’s most important national resources.” The FCC collaborated on the approach, which was marshalled by the Secretary of Commerce through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Continue reading White House Launches New Spectrum Strategy, 3 GHz Study

Feds Escalate Urgency Around AI, Biden Meets with Experts

President Biden heralded the “enormous promise” of artificial intelligence while pointing out that we must manage risks to society and our economy. These include misinformation and job loss. Meeting with experts in San Francisco, Biden said AI is already fueling “change in every part of American life, often in ways we don’t notice.” Citing social media and its potential harms, Biden called for proper AI guardrails. The Bay Area visit was part of Biden’s 2024 reelection fundraising campaign, and included an event co-hosted by venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, who was integral to the launches of LinkedIn and PayPal. Continue reading Feds Escalate Urgency Around AI, Biden Meets with Experts

White House: Big Tech Shouldn’t Be Forced to Pay ISP Fees

As consumers increasingly cord-cut, severing the once-profitable content subscriptions that offset infrastructure costs for ISPs, governments are now looking to charge Big Tech companies for access to broadband networks, which are expensive to install and maintain. The European Commission is being lobbied by telecom firms to implement such a plan, which the Biden administration is urging EU lawmakers to reject on the basis it would be difficult to enforce and could also potentially undermine net neutrality. Direct payments to telecom operators “could reinforce the dominant market position of the largest operators,” the U.S. said in response. Continue reading White House: Big Tech Shouldn’t Be Forced to Pay ISP Fees

TSMC Seeks $15 Billion in U.S. Incentives to Build Foundries

Taiwan’s TSMC, the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, is seeking $15 billion in U.S. subsidies to help build two chip factories in Arizona, but is pushing back against terms that include sharing detailed information about its stateside operations and possibly profits. Some South Korean semiconductor firms are also said to have raised objections. The White House contends the criteria are in place to protect American taxpayers and ensure the subsidies are being spent as intended. TSMC has pledged $40 billion of its own funds for the project. Continue reading TSMC Seeks $15 Billion in U.S. Incentives to Build Foundries

Federal Government Continues to Grapple with AI Guidelines

Agencies across the federal government are actively exploring steps to regulate artificial intelligence, seeking to ensure it is safe now while minimizing future harms. The Commerce Department this week issued a public request for comment to be accepted within the next 60 days, then used by U.S. policymakers as they consider new rules for a consumer technology sector that has exploded globally in 2023. The move by Commerce comes on the heels of a scathing advisory by the Federal Trade Commission, which has been examining ways generative AI could be misused for scams or fraud. Continue reading Federal Government Continues to Grapple with AI Guidelines

Former TikTok Worker Tells Congress Project Texas ‘Flawed’

A former TikTok employee has stepped forward to inform congressional investigators that the company’s proposal for protecting U.S. user data is “deeply flawed,” potentially leaving data for more than 100 million American citizens exposed to parsing by China-based entities, including parent company ByteDance and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rulers. The allegations come at a sensitive time in negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. over the objection of a bipartisan contingent of lawmakers, who are calling for a ban. Continue reading Former TikTok Worker Tells Congress Project Texas ‘Flawed’

Senate RESTRICT Act Cracks Down on Tik Tok, Foreign Tech

A bipartisan Senate bill to mitigate risks from adversarial nations is making its way around the hill. The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act directs the Commerce Department to implement procedures that “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit and mitigate” foreign technology threats, as well as requiring Commerce to make available to intelligence agencies declassified information on the nature of the risk. The legislation is the most recent salvo by Congress in its attempt to repel invasive technologies by countries whose values clash with ours, exemplified by TikTok and China. Continue reading Senate RESTRICT Act Cracks Down on Tik Tok, Foreign Tech

Biden Advocates Tougher Cybersecurity for Private Enterprise

The Biden administration has issued rules requiring key U.S. companies to meet minimum cybersecurity standards. The new National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) calls on software makers and American industry to be more active in the fight to repel hackers and ransomware groups even as the FBI accelerates global efforts to disrupt bad actors. Although the strategy is a policy document rather than an executive order, it represents a major policy shift, escalating participation by both the public and private sectors, while anticipating legislative changes required to give teeth to the plan. Continue reading Biden Advocates Tougher Cybersecurity for Private Enterprise

U.S. Plans to Create Manufacturing Clusters with CHIPS Act

The U.S. plan to expand its national chip industry includes adding a minimum of two manufacturing clusters for advanced semiconductors by 2030. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo explained Thursday that the goal is to create chip ecosystems that group together fabrication plants, assembly plants, research-and-development labs and the suppliers to support each phase of operation. The vision is to make the U.S. “the only country in the world where every company capable of producing leading edge chips will have a significant R&D and high-volume manufacturing presence,” Raimondo said. Continue reading U.S. Plans to Create Manufacturing Clusters with CHIPS Act

Nvidia Offers Advanced Chip to Clear U.S. Export Control List

Nvidia becomes the first stateside chipmaker to launch a product in China that manages to clear strict U.S. export hurdles aimed at keeping high-end processors out of the territory. Computers with the new Nvidia chip, the A800, are already selling in China. Publicly traded Nvidia had been concerned the export limits could divert hundreds of millions of dollars from its bottom line. In October, U.S. regulators effectively banned shipments of advanced microchips and the equipment required to make them in order to bolster national security and thwart Chinese weaponization. Continue reading Nvidia Offers Advanced Chip to Clear U.S. Export Control List

FCC’s Carr Renews Call for a National Security Ban on TikTok

Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, is continuing his efforts to have TikTok banned, telling the Council on Foreign Investment in the U.S. in his strongest language to date that the viral short-form video app is, as a result of consumer adoption, becoming a part of the nation’s critical information infrastructure, and thus presents a national security risk due to Chinese ownership. TikTok is reportedly back in negotiations with the CFIUS, an interagency committee that reviews foreign investment, about a change of ownership that would smooth the path to ongoing U.S. operations. Continue reading FCC’s Carr Renews Call for a National Security Ban on TikTok

U.S. Aims to Slow China Tech Progress with Chip Restrictions

The Biden administration is acting to limit China’s rapid military progress by banning shipments of advanced chips and the production tools needed to make them. This is in response to signs that China is using AI and supercomputing to develop hypersonic weapons and systems that may be able to crack highly encrypted messaging. The new rules, which extend to foreign companies using relevant U.S. technology, have already begun taking effect. But companies including Intel, Samsung, TSMC and SK Hynix have reportedly received limited exemptions allowing them to continue shipping to some factories there. Continue reading U.S. Aims to Slow China Tech Progress with Chip Restrictions

GlobalWafers Ties Proposal for Texas Foundry to CHIPS Act

Taiwanese semiconductor giant GlobalWafers wants to invest $5 billion to construct a state-of-the-art 300-millimeter silicon wafer factory in Sherman, Texas, but only if Congress can fund the CHIPS for America Act, which passed in January 2021 and has been promised $52 billion but sits with an empty purse. The new GlobalWafers factory would be the first of its kind in the U.S. in 20 years and is expected to create 1,500 jobs. GlobalWafers president Mark England says if government incentives are not unleashed soon the company will “pivot to South Korea.” Continue reading GlobalWafers Ties Proposal for Texas Foundry to CHIPS Act