On Thursday, President Joe Biden will highlight IBM Corp.’s intentions to spend $20 billion in New York over the following ten years on the research and development of semiconductors, mainframe technology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
The announcement is the most recent in a series of investments made since Biden signed the Chips and Science Act in August, which provided $52 billion to support the production and study of semiconductor chips.
The administration claims that substantial subsidies for private enterprises are required because chip companies have been receiving billions in incentives from China and the European Union.
Prior to the House midterm elections later this month, Biden has tried to take advantage of the investment announcements. He visited Ohio last month to give a speech near the location of Intel Corp.’s proposed $20 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility.
Tuesday saw the announcement by Micron Technology that it would spend up to $100 billion over the course of more than 20 years to develop a semiconductor fabrication plant in New York, with a first phase investment of $20 billion slated for this decade.
The investment in Micron was referred to as “a significant win for US economic & national security” and “part of a deliberate, long term industrial strategy that will bolster U.S. competitiveness, & increase our long-term productive capacity” by White House National Economic Director Brian Deese on Twitter.
Arvind Krishna, the CEO of IBM, will accompany Biden when he visits the company’s Poughkeepsie, New York, facility, which is home to one of the highest concentrations of quantum computers.
The Poughkeepsie location will serve as “a global hub of the company’s quantum computing development, just as it does today for mainframes,” according to IBM. A thorough breakdown of IBM’s $20 billion investment plans was not provided.
For today’s computers and artificial intelligence platforms, funding for chips “will ensure a reliable and secure supply of next-generation CPUs,” according to IBM.
