Semiconductors are a marvel of modern technology and the foundation of our digital world. The chips powering modern smartphones contain more than 15 billion transistors, each smaller than a virus and capable of switching on and off billions of times per second. The semiconductors at the heart of today’s AI data centers can contain hundreds of billions of transistors, a number so high that if you counted one transistor per second, it would take more than 6,000 years to count all the transistors on a single chip.
To win the competition for technology leadership in industries enabled by semiconductors, such as artificial intelligence, high performance computing, advanced communications, quantum, energy, and defense—the U.S. must reaffirm itself as the epicenter of innovation for the semiconductor industry’s newest technology paradigms. To this end, the U.S. is investing in high impact R&D programs to secure the next generation of semiconductor innovation.
“Winning the Chip Race” sets forth the U.S. semiconductor industry’s policy priorities for collaboration with the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress. Policymakers should advance U.S. semiconductor leadership through coordinated, complementary efforts to promote industry innovation and competitiveness while also protecting economic and national security.
The report projects the United States will triple its domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity from 2022—when the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS) was enacted—to 2032. The projected 203% growth is the largest projected percent increase in the world over that time.
The study also projects the U.S. will grow its share of advanced logic (below 10nm) manufacturing to 28% of global capacity by 2032, up from 0% in 2022. Additionally, America is projected to capture over one-quarter (28%) of total global capital expenditures (capex) from 2024-2032, ranking second only to Taiwan (31%). In the absence of the CHIPS Act, the U.S. would have captured only 9% of global capex by 2032, according to the report.
A growing, globally competitive U.S. semiconductor industry requires a skilled workforce, including highly educated engineers and scientists, well-trained technicians, and others.
To ensure the success of the CHIPS Act and drive semiconductor innovation – along with the national security and economic benefits derived from U.S. semiconductor leadership – America needs to adopt policies to educate and attract the top engineering and scientific talent in the world and train a skilled workforce for the semiconductor industry and other strategic technology sectors.
SIA released a study finding the United States faces a significant shortage of technicians, computer scientists, and engineers, with a projected shortfall of 67,000 of these workers in the semiconductor industry by 2030 and a gap of 1.4 million such workers throughout the broader U.S. economy. The report, titled “Chipping Away: Assessing and Addressing the Labor Market Gap Facing the U.S. Semiconductor Industry,” also makes a set of policy recommendations to help close the talent gap and complement the workforce development initiatives that are already being carried out by semiconductor companies across the U.S.
The report finds that a federal investment in semiconductor design and R&D of approximately $20 billion to $30 billion through 2030—including $15 billion to $20 billion for an investment tax credit for semiconductor design—will help maintain long-term U.S. chip design leadership.
The cornerstone of the CHIPS R&D program is the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), a more than $5 billion initiative tasked to “conduct research and prototyping of advanced semiconductor technology and grow the domestic semiconductor workforce to strengthen the economic competitiveness and security of the domestic supply chain.” This report contains a set of recommendations to promote the success of the NSTC and synthesizes the most up-to-date industry consensus and priorities.
As global chips demand increases, and the industry responds to geopolitical uncertainty and other disruptions, semiconductor companies are diversifying their global investment footprint to improve supply chain resilience. In turn, governments around the world are seeking to improve their countries’ business and investment climate to attract and facilitate new semiconductor projects.
In our new SIA-BCG report, Attracting Chips Investment: Industry Recommendations for Policymakers, we recommend policy actions governments can undertake to better attract and facilitate chips investments that complement industry operations in the United States, and in turn drive greater security, resilience, and diversification in global semiconductor supply chains.
SIA is the voice of the semiconductor industry, one of America’s top export industries and a key driver of our economic strength, national security, and global competitiveness.
