VP Harris visits for new R&D facility announcement
Semiconductor company hopes EPIC Center will help `keep the silicon in Silicon Valley'
Echoing the goal set by other speakers to “keep the silicon in Silicon Valley,” Vice President Kamala Harris touched down in Sunnyvale on Monday for Applied Materials' announcement of a new research and development facility.
Envisioned as the largest facility of its kind in the world, the EPIC Center is intended as a collaborative space for tech engineers, university faculty and others to come together and create the next generation of tools for semiconductor manufacturing. It's planned to have more than 180,000 square feet of cleanroom space — the size of more than three American football fields. It will be located next to Applied Materials' existing Maydan Technology Center on Arques Avenue.
“I've always been excited about what we can do collectively about improving the condition of people,” Harris told the crowd at Applied Materials, adding that the semiconductors produced at the company's campus “are essential to every electronic device we use.”
“Without semiconductors, your smart phone … would be a paperweight,” Harris said.
The vice president pointed out that the CHIPS and Science Act signed by President Joseph Biden in August has helped spur private investment in the $4 billion EPIC Center. The CHIPS and Science Act directs $280 billion in spending over the next decade, with $200 billion for commercialization and research and development, and $53 billion for semiconductor manufacturing, R&D and workforce development, plus $24 billion in tax credits for chip making.
One goal of the CHIPS act is to revitalize Silicon Valley's chip manufacturing industry. Most silicon chips are now made overseas.
“To build a better future,” Harris said, “we must make sure the industry has the support it needs.”
Applied Materials President and CEO Gary Dickerson thanked the Biden administration for supporting the semiconductor industry, adding, “The vice president has called the CHIPS act an investment in our future American leaders.”
Dickerson said the EPIC Center will support new collaborative models for next-generation technology.
“The technology's complexity is increasing,” he added. “Today, we don't have an adequate supply of talent to support our needs.”
Plans for the EPIC Center impressed Gov. Gavin Newsom's office enough that Applied Materials was among the first to receive funding via the California Competes Tax Credit program. The Sunnyvale company received $120 million through the program, created to help businesses seek incentives for largescale job creation or significant capital investment in California.
Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein said he's looking forward to seeing those incentives put to use in his city.
“With the new EPIC Center setting up shop in Sunnyvale, Applied Materials has invited the rest of the world to come here and do business,” Klein said.