Smaller, faster, better microchip “wafers” – the world needs them, like, yesterday.
And, if a local partnership announced Wednesday connects like tech industry, local and federal government officials anticipate, they will be coming from Osceola County, forming the backbone of a potential new billion-dollar American industry.
Officials from Osceola County, the U.S. Department of Defense and nanotechnology foundry and NeoCity tenant SkyWater Technology came together to collectively bring detail and context to a five-year contract. It funds the production of the next generation of microchips – those you don’t think about on a daily basis that power your car, TV remote control, cellphone and other technology, along with “the big toys” the Defense Department uses. The award will initially allocate $3.65 million, fund up to $120 million over the five years, and offer government options to offer another $169 million.
Dr. Donna Joyce, the Army's chief research scientist for protective technologies, said the award will create an additional regional hub for advancing packaging manufacturing capabilities, likes ones in Austin, Texas, Silicon Valley and upstate New York near Albany.
“The establishment of this manufacturing capability here on shore is critical to the Department’s weapons system development,” she said. “I’m proud to be here in collaboration with this team and our partners and executing this program.”
In short, the Department of Defense picked Kissimmee for what Joyce said is the groundwork teams like SkyWater have already put here.
“We were looking for a U.S. pure foundry, and we’re delighted to work in this space,” she said. “We believe that the packaging is a huge part of the micro-electronics life cycle.”
The need “is great” and “critical,” for the future of protecting the U.S., while creating higher-paying manufacturing jobs, Congressman Darren Soto (D-Kissimmee) said via Zoom Wednesday. And, as Osceola County is a finalist for federal CHIPS Act and National Science Foundation awards, those could funnel hundreds of millions more in funding to NeoCity, where partners like SkyWater and Belgian microchip technology innovator imec already have Florida divisions.
“We’re bringing this technology in manufacturing home. The research will continue,” Soto said.
SkyWater CEO Tom Sonderman said some of the work that will be done at NeoCity, called “Fan Out Technology,” has yet to be done in this country. At a basic science level, it means this: smaller, faster, better microchips will be able to make their way from NeoCity directly into an exploding U.S. and global market for them.
“The ability to quickly initiate the execution of the program (leads to) our commitment to accelerating its technological and job-growth capabilities,” he said. “The result is a secure expansion of onshore access to the world’s most advanced integration solutions. It is a significant step forward in … delivering the excellence of NeoCity.”
Sonderman said the chips generated at NeoCity will be among the most advanced technology created in the sector.
“This is the next phase of innovation, a chance for the U.S. to be the leading manufacturer of it,” the SkyWater leader said. “I like to remind everyone, we invented this industry, and we will dominate this industry.”
Osceola County Manager Don Fisher said Wednesday was one of the days that would not likely have been imagined six or seven years ago when these were just plans in an office.
“Osceola County is receiving this engineering award. We’re subcontracting with SkyWater,” he said Wednesday with a wry grin. “We’re the only local government we know of that’s a defense contractor. It’s not because we want to be in the semiconductor industry, but because we want to create jobs for the next generation of kids, to provide them something besides tourism and agriculture.
“It’s been a remarkable journey; this is a $50 billion return on investment at the end of the master plan when the site (NeoCity) builds out, with 4,000 to 16,000 direct jobs and over 20,000 indirect jobs in the ecosystem around it.”
