Gov. Greg Abbott announced July 9 that a $33.6 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund has been extended to Texas Instruments Incorporated for expanded capacity and technology investments at the company’s 300mm semiconductor wafer fabrication plant in Richardson, known as RFAB. The project is expected to total $700 million in capital investment, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
The grant is the latest awarded under the Texas CHIPS Act, which Abbott signed into law in 2023 to establish the fund and keep the state at the front of the nation’s semiconductor research, design and manufacturing.
“Texas is where the integrated circuit was born and where the future is forged,” Abbott said in the release. “Texas Instruments is a global trailblazer, and this expansion of their historic, long-term investment in our great state advances Texas’ leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. Texas has the innovation, the infrastructure, and the talent to manufacture the technologies that will change the future of the world.”
Texas Instruments, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Dallas, produced the world’s first commercial silicon transistor in 1954, and TI engineer Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit there in 1958, the governor’s office noted. Today the company is the largest foundational semiconductor manufacturer in the United States, producing analog and embedded processing chips used in satellites, vehicles, smartphones and nearly every other electronic device. The Richardson investment will expand capacity, enable new process technologies and enhance the facility’s ability to manufacture TI’s product portfolio on 300mm wafers, the largest and most advanced silicon wafer size.
“This award recognizes the investment we have made in our Richardson semiconductor manufacturing factory and reinforces our commitment to producing the foundational technology that is vital for nearly every electronic device, now and for decades to come,” said Mohammad Yunus, TI senior vice president of the Technology and Manufacturing Group, in the release.
State Sen. Bob Hall said the expansion reinforces Texas’ role in strengthening America’s supply chain, national security and technological leadership. “Texas has long been the leader in innovation, and investments like this ensure we remain the leader for generations to come,” Hall said in the release.
The Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium are administered by the Texas CHIPS Office within the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office. According to the governor’s office, the programs are designed to leverage the state’s semiconductor investments, encourage industry expansion, develop expertise at Texas institutions of higher education and maintain the state’s position as the nation’s leader in semiconductor manufacturing.