Rep. Panetta Announces New Federal Investment in Local Semiconductor Manufacturer Expansion

Infinera is a local semiconductor and telecommunications equipment manufacturer that has operated its U.S. fabrication and ATP facilities for over two decades. Specifically, the project in South San Jose will construct a new modernized Fab and foundry with over 40,000 square feet of cleanroom space to increase its indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuits (InP PICs) manufacturing.

Rep. Panetta with bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate passed the CHIPS and Science Act into law during the 117^th Congress. The landmark legislation has already allocated over $35 billion in proposed funding across 16 states, including California, and is expected to create over 115,000 jobs in emerging high-tech manufacturing and research sectors. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, semiconductor and electronics companies have announced over $400 billion in private investments, catalyzed in large part by public investment.

"Although Silicon Valley leads the world in innovation, it isn't really known as a manufacturing base for semiconductor chips," said Rep. Panetta. "That may change with this major federal investment in Infinera, its innovation, and its manufacturing of semiconductor chips in California's 19^th Congressional District. Through the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, we are investing in local projects with hundreds of good-paying jobs that will bolster our innovation and dramatically increase our domestic output of semiconductors in South San Jose."

InP PICs are key components in optical network communications. These components enable the fast and reliable transfer of large amounts of data in communications, spanning short- to long-distance broadband networks; between AI and machine-learning clusters inside the data center; and between data centers. This technology is essential to powering American economic innovation and support security technology.

"We are honored to be part of the Department of Commerce's efforts to increase semiconductor fabrication and packaging in the U.S. and protect our national and economic security as part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act," said Infinera CEO David Heard. "Optical semiconductor technology and photonics are at the heart of scalable and resilient connectivity required to support the rapidly growing need for high-speed communications. This proposed funding would enable us to better serve our customers, expand our partnerships, and compete more effectively with foreign adversary competitors, especially at a time when supply chain security is increasingly important to America's communications infrastructure, from high-capacity long-haul transmission and broadband networks to power-efficient connectivity inside data centers to support the explosive growth in AI workloads."

The California project will be supported by the Nor Cal Carpenters Union (NCCU). For trades not covered by NCCU, Infinera's general contractor, Vulcan Construction, has agreed to hire from a contractor base consisting of 100% labor union-signatory contractors affiliated with the building trades. Infinera's current operations in South San Jose are 95% carbon free, which is expected to continue with the expansion of the Fab.

"From artificial intelligence to electric vehicles to telecommunications infrastructure, 21st century technologies all rely on optical semiconductors like the ones manufactured by Infinera," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "The Biden-Harris Administration is achieving the economic and national security goal of the CHIPS and Science Act with investments like this one. We are securing semiconductor manufacturing projects across the country to build a robust domestic chip ecosystem that will create high-tech jobs and economic opportunities for communities across the country."

###