Intel awarded $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grants; thousands of jobs slated for Arizona

The U.S. is awarding Intel with $8.5 billion in direct funding through the federal CHIPS Act to support the company’s semiconductor advanced packaging and manufacturing facilities in Arizona and three other states. Once loans and tax credits are considered, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) could receive a package valued at more than $40 billion. All told, Intel’s federal award package could support 30,000 new direct jobs, including 3,000 manufacturing and 6,000 construction jobs in Arizona. As part of its broader workforce investment program, Intel has committed to providing discounted access to a network of child care providers and a primary child care reimbursement program for non-exempt employees. Link to story >

KOREPlex Site Plan Receives Key Approval, Project to Deliver a $1.25B Investment in Buckeye

The KOREPlex, which is central to KORE Power, inc.’s (KORE) plan to build an American lithium-ion battery supply chain, received a key approval in Q1 2024, when the City of Buckeye’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved plans for Phases 1 and 2 at the site. The plans for the first phase of the KOREPlex, which will produce batteries for the transportation and energy storage sectors, includes the construction of a 909,000-square-foot manufacturing hall, which will house operations for the production of lithium-ion cells and modules. The campus will also include a 28,000-square-foot administration building and 14 additional buildings that will offer storage and additional services for the facility. The construction of Phase 1, which will start this year following final approval by Buckeye’s City Council, will result in an estimated 700 jobs. When the site becomes operational, we expect it to create more than 1,250 jobs, the majority of which will be available to workers with a GED. Link to story >

NAU Graduate Asks: Where are all the women in tech?

While working as a software development project manager in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bianca Trinkenreich was always one of few women in the room—and she often wondered why. When she came to Northern Arizona University as a Ph.D. student, she had the opportunity to search for answers. Trinkenreich joined assistant professor Igor Steinmacher’s Software Engineering Research Laboratory, where she investigated the hows and whys of women’s underrepresentation in the field of open-source software development.

“When I looked at the many types of people who were not participating in open-source software development, I found that the representation of women was especially low,” Trinkenreich said. “As a woman in tech, and as a mother with a daughter, I really wanted to understand why we’re not there and what we can do to encourage future generations of women to be there.” Link to story >

How Arizona brings STEM learning opportunities like Chief Science Officers to rural communities

Launched in 2015, the Arizona-grown Chief Science Officer program is run by the SciTech Institute, an initiative of the Arizona Commerce Authority and Arizona Technology Council. The program enhances and promotes the value and importance of STEM education, providing a blueprint for empowering sixth- through 12th-graders to be STEM ambassadors for their communities. Roughly 600 students in 12 states as well as more than 400 students in countries such as Kenya, Kuwait, and Mexico make up the program. In Arizona, CSOs help organize and run statewide activities for the annual SciTech Festival, a grassroots STEM collaboration of events and activities for all Arizonans. The festival is the country’s third-largest science celebration, with 900-plus partnering organizations hosting 3,000 events in more than 80 Arizona cities, towns, and communities since 2012. Link to story >

Lucid Motors, Arizona-based EV company, announces facility expansion, SUV

Lucid Motors, an Arizona-based EV company, announced a major facility expansion in Casa Grande and an SUV it describes as “the most advanced electric SUV in the world that’s ever been.” Just a few years after their first car came off the line, the facility expanded and Lucid announced its next move: an SUV. Lucid’s newest facility increases its square footage from 800,000 to nearly 4 million. Lucid is clear this isn’t the final expansion, and they want more in the future. Link to story >

Planatome Expands Manufacturing Operations in Arizona

Planatome, a medical device company that applies atomic-level polishing from the semiconductor industry to create advanced surgical blades that lead to better patient outcomes, today announced the plans for the development of a manufacturing plant in the greater Phoenix area and to more than double the size of its workforce over the next five years. The Arizona Commerce Authority will also support Planatome through the Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership (AZ MEP), which helps Arizona manufacturers achieve their business goals by connecting them to resources, including workforce solutions, supply chain optimization, and more. Link to story >

U of A, NAU formalize agreement toward boosting Arizona’s semiconductor industry

As Arizona looks to help boost the national semiconductor manufacturing industry, a new agreement between the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University will help the universities work as collaboratively as possible.

The agreement is the latest step for the new UArizona Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing, which launched in May. Specifically, the agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, formalizes a plan for the universities and industry partners to find ways to collaborate on research projects and academic partnerships related to semiconductor manufacturing. The agreement also encourages the universities to share research space and equipment and explore ways they can offer courses and professional development programs around the state to people working in the industry. Link to story >

ASU Business School Launches New AI Degree Program

Following ASU’s groundbreaking announcement of the first university collaboration with OpenAI, the W. P. Carey School of Business is officially launching a new degree program — the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business (MS-AIB). Backed by faculty from the Department of Information Systems, it is the first AI graduate degree program from a business school in the United States. The new W.P. Carey MS-AIB program incorporates an applied curriculum and career coaching to prepare graduates for success in emerging roles across industries. Taught by world-renowned faculty, the MS-AIB degree develops technical AI and professional skills needed to thrive in the constantly evolving landscape of technology and business. Link to story >

TSMC set to receive $5 billion for Arizona fabs

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced a $17.5 million investment in Arizona State University (ASU) to expand Arizona’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. The expansion will enhance Arizona’s fan-out wafer-level packaging R&D and workforce training capabilities and drive the creation of a GaN (gallium nitride) manufacturing and research ecosystem in the state to enable technology of the future. ASU will allocate the funding to purchase equipment to enhance the capabilities of ASU’s MacroTechnology Works (MTW) in Tempe. Link to story >

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $40 Million Across Arizona for Clean School Buses as Part of the Investing in America Agenda

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting children and improving air quality, today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of three applicants in Arizona to receive $40,090,898 through EPA’s first Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition. The awards, made possible through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will help selectees purchase clean school buses in 25 school districts across Arizona. By accelerating the transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles, these awards will improve air quality for children and their families and advance environmental justice while boosting the economy and creating good-paying jobs. Link to story >