Policy Briefing — U.S. CHIPS and Science Act Enacted
President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law, authorising tens of billions for semiconductor incentives and advanced research programs that fund national AI research institutes, regional technology hubs, and NIST testbeds.
The law provides $52.7 billion for domestic semiconductor incentives and establishes multi-year authorisations for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and NIST to expand AI research, workforce, and standards initiatives. It codifies the National AI Research Resource pilot, AI institutes, and trusted chip design programs to secure supply chains.
- NSF AI institutes. The act authorises expanded funding for NSF to launch new AI Research Institutes and workforce development partnerships.
- NAIRR pilot. Congress directs NSF and other agencies to implement a National AI Research Resource pilot program to broaden access to compute and datasets.
- NIST testbeds. NIST receives resources for metrology, cybersecurity, and AI assurance testbeds supporting trusted and secure AI-enabled hardware.
AI program managers should align grant proposals and supply-chain plans with CHIPS implementation timelines to capture new funding streams.