IBM and the U.S. Department of Commerce are expected to invest a combined $2 billion to establish a new business operating a secure quantum wafer fabrication facility at Albany NanoTech, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced.
The agreement includes up to $1 billion in federal CHIPS research and development funding and another $1 billion from IBM, according to Schumer's office.
IBM also plans to contribute intellectual property, equipment and workers to the venture. The operation would use 300-millimeter wafers to support development of next-generation quantum technologies.
Schumer said the investment would strengthen the Capital Region's role in semiconductor and quantum research while creating jobs and expanding domestic production capacity.
Albany complex anchors semiconductor research
Albany NanoTech is home to a High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography center, one of two public facilities worldwide with the advanced manufacturing equipment and the only publicly owned center of its kind in North America.
New York previously committed $1 billion toward the broader $10 billion lithography center. Installation of a 300-millimeter wafer coating and development system began earlier this year, Schumer's office said.
The Albany research complex has also been cited as a factor in Micron's decision to pursue a planned semiconductor manufacturing campus in Central New York.
CHIPS investments spread across upstate
Other projects supported by the federal CHIPS and Science Act include funding for GlobalFoundries facilities, Corning specialty-glass production in Canton and an Edwards Vacuum manufacturing plant.
Schumer's office also cited planned investments by TTM Technologies in Onondaga County and Menlo Micro in Tompkins County as part of the region's growing semiconductor supply chain.
The announcement did not provide a construction schedule, expected opening date or specific job total for the new IBM-backed operation.
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