US to give four firms up to $389 million for chips

The U.S. Department of Commerce will give up to $389 million in research and development support to four companies. The money goes to chips and power-delivery technology for fusion power and advanced computing. The awards run through the CHIPS Research and Development Office. As a condition of the awards, the government takes a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each firm.

CFS focuses on fusion‑ready chips

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), which Google backs, will receive $85 million to develop fusion-ready chips. CFS plans to use the money to advance silicon-carbide power electronics and build next-generation radio-frequency power generators. It also plans to create electronics hardened against radiation, which can run longer inside a fusion plant. The company will adapt AI hardware such as GPUs and TPUs for power-delivery work too. CFS is working on its Sparc reactor, which it aims to turn on next year. It is also working on the ARC commercial fusion plant, which could deliver electricity to the grid in the early 2030s. Google has already committed to buy part of that plant's output once it comes online.

Three other companies will also get awards. Helion, a startup backed by Microsoft, will receive a substantial award to build high-voltage semiconductor modules. Those modules will handle the pulsed power needed to drive its fusion magnets. The money also supports next-generation semiconductor tooling. Vertical Semiconductor, an MIT spin-out, will receive an award to advance gallium-nitride power chips that could make computing power more efficient. Sibelco, an industrial minerals and materials firm, will get support to develop ultra-pure quartz for crystal-growth crucibles and other semiconductor components.