Commerce Dept to demand equity from 7 tech companies as a condition to tap into millions in federal funding

The Commerce Department indicated that the federal government is on track to dole out millions of dollars to seven companies to fund technology development but will require the businesses to fork over equity in exchange for the money.

"The Department of Commerce today announced the signing of 7 letters of intent to provide $874 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act," a Wednesday press release noted. "These incentives will support innovative domestic technologies to dramatically increase the performance of the world’s fastest computers, secure domestic supply chains, and strengthen U.S. leadership in the compute supply chain."

The CHIPS and Science Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.

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The seven companies, which include GlobalFoundries, Kepler, Multibeam Corporation, Extropic, Thintronics, OBSIDIA Semiconductors and Aeluma, "have entered into letters of intent with the Department of Commerce, and there will be further diligence and approval by the Department before final awards are made," according to the announcement, which is posted on the National Institute of Standards and Technology site. "The Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition for receiving the funds to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer."

The department detailed the planned funding allotments for each company should the government move forward.

"GlobalFoundries will receive up to $300 million to accelerate the domestic research and development of co-packaged optics by two to three years. By integrating photonics directly alongside AI processors, this technology will deliver ultra-fast, energy-efficient computing to reinforce U.S. leadership in AI infrastructure," the release noted. "Kepler will receive up to $245 million for R&D to develop in the U.S. a new class of high-performance AI memory technology enabled by innovative 3D and ferroelectric technologies."

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"Multibeam Corporation will receive up to $140 million to develop advanced packaging technology to assemble and stack multiple chips and connect them with thousands of wires, which will enable more advanced systems necessary for AI and other advanced computing applications," the department states. "Extropic will receive up to $75 million to develop thermodynamic sampling units (TSUs) which use natural thermal fluctuations to probabilistically solve complex problems spanning simulation, optimization, and AI, at a fraction of the energy consumed by conventional computing approaches."

"Thintronics will receive up to $50 million to develop ultra-low-loss inter-layer dielectrics required for next-generation semiconductor interconnects and advanced packaging in high-performance compute, AI, and networking infrastructure," the announcement states. 

"OBSIDIA Semiconductors will receive up to $34 million for R&D to deliver non-invasive counterfeit and malicious component identification systems to ensure provenance and traceability in secure supply chains for AI and advanced electronics," the release notes. "Aeluma will receive up to $30 million to develop large diameter, indium-phosphide-free substrate technology used to fabricate photodetectors and lasers for AI photonic interconnects."

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"With today’s compute supply chain investments, the Trump Administration is accelerating America’s innovation engine," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement. "These strategic investments will enhance our country’s domestic capabilities, create high-paying jobs and keep America at the forefront of the semiconductor industry."