Texas A&M breaks ground on chip R&D

Texas A&M broke ground on a $226 million semiconductor research center in Bryan on April 9, adding a new state-backed hub for chip development. (gov.texas.gov) The building, called the Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute, is planned for the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus and is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2028. State officials and university leaders said the project is backed by a $226.4 million state investment. (chips.tamus.edu) Semiconductors are the tiny switches inside phones, cars, servers and weapons systems that control how electricity moves and how data gets processed. Texas A&M says the new site will combine research, workforce training and industry collaboration in one place. (chips.tamus.edu) The institute’s research space is set to include a clean room, which is a sealed production area built to keep dust and vibration from ruining microscopic chip features. Texas A&M says the facility will house 300-millimeter equipment, packaging, testing and metrology tools, along with labs for process development and workforce training. (chips.tamus.edu) Construction Dive reported the building will have about 80,000 square feet for research, training and collaboration, citing Texas A&M System Regent Jay Graham at the ceremony. The project also includes a sealed clean room for full-scale production and labs for advanced technology and research and development. (constructiondive.com) Texas is tying the project to a wider push to keep more chip design, manufacturing and testing in the United States after shortages disrupted automakers, electronics companies and other industries in recent years. Governor Greg Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act in 2023 to encourage semiconductor expansion, university programs and state incentives. (gov.texas.gov) That 2023 law created the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium. The governor’s office says lawmakers appropriated $698 million in 2023 and added $250 million in 2025, bringing the fund to about $948 million. (gov.texas.gov) The state is also using that money beyond College Station and Bryan. Texas has already announced Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund awards for projects tied to Samsung in Taylor, SpaceX in Bastrop and Temple College’s Central Texas Chips Hub. (gov.texas.gov) Abbott said at the groundbreaking that “Texas and America must be microchip independent,” framing the institute as part of a national manufacturing and security push. The next marker is construction: Texas A&M’s own project page lists completion in early 2028. (gov.texas.gov)