The regional coalition that counts the Sherman Economic Development Corp., Texas Instruments and Grayson College among its original members has secured its first big round of money to put plans into motion.
SMU, which leads the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub, said Friday, Oct. 23, that the group will receive nearly $29 million. About $24 million of that comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and another $4.8 million comes from other sources, according to the university. The announcement was made at an event on the SMU campus with Deputy Commerce Secretary Paul M. Dabbar.
Where the money goes
SMU listed three linked efforts:
- $13 million for shared semiconductor infrastructure, including small prototyping facilities the hub calls Fablets. The university said they will give researchers, startups and companies modular access to equipment for chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing at lower cost than a full cleanroom.
- $6 million for workforce education and training. SMU said the training will lean on AI and digital twin software to ready workers for fields such as advanced chip packaging and photonics.
- $5 million to help entrepreneurs and businesses turn new technology into products, through funding, industry contacts, intellectual property and shared resources.
The release did not say where the new facilities or training programs will be located.
"With $100 million in private investment behind it, Texoma will expand American semiconductor manufacturing," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in the release.
