Feds to claw back semiconductor research money, could endanger ASU lab

The U.S. Department of Commerce voided a $7.4 billion semiconductor research grant deal this week, a move that could endanger an advanced packaging research facility planned at Arizona State University.

The agency announced that it would claw back the payment to the National Semiconductor Technology Center, operated by a nonprofit known as Natcast.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick criticized the private nonprofit, which was established in the final days of President Joe Biden’s term to handle the money. He called it a “semiconductor slush fund” and alleged that its function was “illegal.”