US to provide up to $389 million in CHIPS awards to 4 firms

What happened

The US Department of Commerce announced the signing of four letters of intent to provide up to USD 389 million in federal R&D awards under the CHIPS and Science Act (reported October 23, 2026). Under the final awards, each company will conduct R&D to address critical projects spanning power semiconductor devices, modules and materials essential to the semiconductor supply chain. Helion will receive up to USD 175 million to develop, scale and establish domestic capabilities in high-voltage power semiconductors and advanced energy power modules for high-peak-current pulsed-power applications in fusion power generation. Commonwealth Fusion Systems will receive up to USD 85 million for R&D on semiconductors for radio-frequency plasma heating, power electronics, embedded electronics for fusion diagnostics, and radiation-hardened electronics. Vertical Semiconductor will receive up to USD 73 million to advance its vertical GaN power semiconductors, enabling more efficient and compact power delivery for advanced computing. Sibelco will receive up to USD 56 million to develop next-generation purification and finishing technologies for ultra-high-purity quartz used in crystal growth crucibles and other hardware. This is an announcement of signed letters of intent for R&D funding, a policy development to be watched for any price impact.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: Evertiq · 10/23/2026 · View original source