Northwest Austin Edition | December 2022

SEMICONDUCTOR FACTS

FAB FACILITIES From Austin to San Antonio, Central Texas is a hub for semiconductor manufacturing facilities, also known as fabs, and support facilities.

the bipartisan passage of the federal CHIPS and Science Act this summer. It freed up more than $52 billion for semiconductor research, manufac- turing, development and workforce initiatives, but how much could come to Texas has not been conrmed. “I think this piece of legislation will impact Central Texas more than any other piece of legislation that’s been passed in my lifetime … from a busi- ness perspective,” Latson said. Human said seeking federal investments is now one of the Austin chamber’s “highest priorities.” “Some of that money will go directly to companies … but there’s also some research money, so it’s yet another opportunity for the private sector, the governmental sector and our higher education partners to go after some of these funds so that some of the most current, most forward-thinking research happens right here in Texas,” she said. While that higher-level work is underway, existing investments and projections are leading to increased interest in locating business near future manufacturing centers. Omar Nasser, principal at the real estate rm Aquila Commercial, said Samsung’s arrival in Northeast Austin “blew the lid o” the local industrial market as related vendors ocked to the area. The company’s planned Tay- lor expansion furthered that trend, and more businesses are now seeking space from Georgetown to San Marcos to get ahead of an expected wave of new development. Nasser likened this activity to the prospecting that followed Tesla’s Aus- tin announcement. The real estate rm is now tracking more than 5 mil- lion square feet of industrial space tied to the chips industry, Nasser said. “A lot of these customers are con- sidering, really, the region,” he said. Although several signs point to a

Applied Materials

Semiconductors are conductive materials used in consumer electronics and vehicles and for various professional elds.

Samsung (Taylor)

183

Samsung Austin Semiconductor

Proposed expansions Equipment providers Existing manufacturers

620

• The rst semiconductor manufacturer in Austin opened in 1974 for Motorola. • Research and development consortium SEMATECH launched in Austin in the 1980s. • Samsung opened its rst Austin facility in 1997. FIRM FOUNDATION CURRENT STATISTICS

Applied Materials

360

290

MOPAC

NXP-Oak Hill

NXP-ATMC

Tokyo Electron

183

130 TOLL

AUSTIN

290

Skorpios Technologies

In neon Technologies

NOTE: AMD, ARM INSTITUTE AND SILICON LABS HAVE OFFICES ONLY IN AUSTIN.

1604

SAN ANTONIO

The U.S. semiconductor industry employs more than 250,000 people. 18 states have chip manufacturing facilities. The U.S. exported $60B in chips in 2021; Texas exported $19.3B. Chips contributed $15.3B to the Texas GDP in 2020, with 44,756 industry jobs.

SOURCES: GREATER AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT

410

Tower Semiconductor

151

EXPANSION EFFECTS Proposed expansions in the sector could bring nancial investments and new jobs. 35

Hutto Applied Materials

Samsung

Austin NXP

Round Rock Valex

Austin In neon

Austin

Taylor

Chips are the fth-largest U.S. export.

$24.5B

$167.6B

$2.6B

$12M

$2B

$700M

130

SOURCES: MOTOROLA, SAMSUNG AUSTIN SEMICONDUCTOR, SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION, TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT

1,800

8,200

500-800

525

100

SOURCE: TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

hikes and an uncertain economy as the reason for a slowdown in home sales; however, he said commercial and infrastructure projects remain strong in the region. County Commissioners also approved $500,000 in August for a county economic development partnership. “We need to continue to do what

we’ve done to get us where we are,” Gravell said. “Not every project is a natural t for us, but there is more to come.” Joe Warner contributed to this report.

rising tide, regional stakeholders are also eyeing the potential of an eco- nomic downturn to dampen current trends. However, most agreed Central Texas is well positioned to weather such storms thanks to the number of people still moving to the area, the resources available and diverse industries. Gravell pointed to interest rate 10

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NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • DECEMBER 2022