Roundtable discussion featuring local leaders, private-sector business partners looks at future of CHIPS and Science Act.

State and federal leaders, led by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and hosted by ASU President Michael Crow, touted the recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act and got a look at Arizona State University’s MacroTechnology Works facility in Tempe on Tuesday.

The goal of the gathering?

To focus on the work ahead.

Congressional approval of the CHIPS and Science Act delivers $52 billion in funding that will go directly into commercial development of microchips in the United States, but also into research and workforce development.

ASU’s MacroTechnology Works provides an environment where the public and private sectors come together, a model that national and local public policymakers are looking to as a framework for how to advance the industry domestically through CHIPS investment. The facility operates as both a lab and a fab — unique to the microchip research and development space — and is a resource for companies of all sizes.

Joined by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Tempe Mayor Corey Woods and other Valley and state economic development professionals, Raimondo and Kelly’s tour included a look at the workspace of a small startup company, Swift Coat, which is a spinout based on research conducted at ASU that has doubled in size over the past year.

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