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US Department of Commerce commits up to $389m in R&D funding to power semiconductors for fusion and advanced computing. Google-backed CFS and Microsoft-backed Helion to receive R&D funding October 23, 2026 The US Department of Commerce has signed four Letters of Intent (LOI) with four companies to provide up to $389 million in federal R&D awards to support the development of semiconductors and their use within power delivery systems. The funding will be made through the CHIPS Research and Development Office. "The Trump Administration is accelerating American semiconductor innovation to enhance our domestic energy and power resources," said Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. "These investments expand domestic research, secure critical supply chains, and create high-paying American jobs." The companies that signed the LOI's include Microsoft-backed Helion, which will receive up to $175m in funding to develop, scale, and establish domestic capabilities in high-voltage power semiconductors and advanced energy power modules designed for high-peak-current pulsed-power applications in fusion power generation. According to the company, the semiconductors will power, control, and harvest energy from the magnets driving Helion's fusion generators. According to Helion, more than $100m will support semiconductor and advanced packaging research and development in Everett, Washington, with a further $80m earmarked to support R&D for next-generation semiconductor tooling, design, and process development. "Building fusion power plants at scale requires us to accelerate the development of technologies like semiconductors that are critical to making fusion possible," said David Kirtley, CEO of Helion. "This award, combined with additional private investment, totaling $225 million, will allow Helion to develop and manufacture advanced semiconductors here in the United States that deliver the efficiency, reliability, and performance our systems require. It's an important investment in both America's semiconductor manufacturing base and the future of commercial fusion." Also receiving funding is Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), which is backed by Google. CFS is set to receive $85m in funding from the Department, which the company claims it will use to develop semiconductor technologies for robotic maintenance systems that improve ARC plant performance and to improve radio-frequency power generators that support commercial fusion. "This award marks an important opportunity to drive development of semiconductors and power electronics unique to the fusion industry," said Bob Mumgaard, CEO and co-founder of Commonwealth Fusion Systems. "These innovations will be a vital part of our global effort to deploy commercial fusion." CFS's proposed ARC commercial fusion reactor is expected to deliver electricity to the grid in the early 2030s. The ARC plant has a planned capacity of 400MW, and is tied to a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Google, which last year committed to offtake 200MW from the plant upon its completion. The other companies to receive funding are Vertical Semiconductor and Sibelco. Co-founded by Josh Perozek, Cynthia Liao, and Tomas Palacios in 2024, Vertical Semiconductor is an MIT spin-out based on research undertaken by MIT's Palacios Group - a 'world-leading' gallium nitride (GaN) research lab. The company will receive up to $73m from the Department in order to advance its GaN power semiconductors. The company said the R&D funds will enable more efficient, compact power delivery for advanced computing. The final company to receive funding was Sibelco, an industrial minerals and materials firm that specializes in mining and processing silica, a key semiconductor component. The company will receive up to $56m to develop next-generation purification and finishing technologies for ultra-high-purity quartz used in crystal growth crucibles, processing glassware, and other hardware throughout the semiconductor value chain. The company said the R&D support will enable it to develop next-generation ultra-high-purity quartz materials to strengthen domestic semiconductor supply chains. The Department will receive a minority, non-controlling, and non-voting equity stake in each company as a condition for making the awards. More in government & military.

Helion in line for $175M award for U.S. High-Voltage semiconductor R&D to support fusion energy. * john stearns * oct 22, 2026. Everett-based fusion-energy company Helion announced today it has signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive up to $175 million in funding to conduct R&D critical for the development and manufacturing of next-generation semiconductor technologies for commercial fusion energy. The funding is through the CHIPS Research and Development Office, which operates within the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce. The expected federal award will be accompanied by $50 million in additional private investment and will support new semiconductor research, manufacturing, and advanced-packaging capabilities in the U.S., Helion said in a news release. The work is expected to generate more than 100 jobs in the state. "Building fusion power plants at scale requires us to accelerate the development of technologies like semiconductors that are critical to making fusion possible," David Kirtley, CEO of Helion, said in the release. "This award combined with additional private investment, totaling $225 million, will allow Helion to develop and manufacture advanced semiconductors here in the United States that deliver the efficiency, reliability, and performance our systems require. It's an important investment in both America's semiconductor manufacturing base and the future of commercial fusion." Helion's fusion systems rely on high-power pulsed electrical systems that must repeatedly and efficiently switch and recover large amounts of energy. Semiconductors that perform at the levels the company requires are currently only available from overseas manufacturers, the release said. The CHIPS Act Award will support R&D for the U.S. development and transition to manufacturing of Helion's next-generation, high-voltage semiconductors, designed to deliver higher efficiency, longer operating lifetime, and more efficient cooling. Developing these technologies domestically will improve reliability, reduce costs, and remove global supply-chain constraints and risks as Helion moves toward commercial deployment, the release continued. More than $100 million will support next-generation semiconductor and advanced packaging research and development in Everett and bring more than 100 jobs and substantial power module manufacturing capability to Washington. The work also will advance new semiconductor packaging capabilities designed to integrate multiple semiconductor devices into efficient, mass-deployable packages, Helion said. In addition, about $80 million will support R&D for next-generation semiconductor tooling, design, and process development in collaboration with an industry partner in Burlington, Vermont, further strengthening the domestic supply chain for technologies Helion needs to manufacture fusion power plants at scale, the company added. The remaining funds will support R&D for additional enhancements to semiconductor packaging and manufacturing automation. "This CHIPS R&D award will support innovation in next-generation semiconductor power modules and devices critical to advancing fusion energy," Bill Frauenhofer, executive director of Semiconductor Investment and Innovation at the Department of Commerce, said in the release. "Accelerating this R&D domestically will support breakthroughs in America's ability to convert and deliver power to critical applications in defense, grid transmission, and advanced energy generation." Delivering American-made fusion energy to the grid could fundamentally change U.S. strategy from managing energy scarcity to harnessing clean-energy abundance, unlocking new industries, strengthening national security, and improving quality of life for all Americans, the release continued. Separately, upon entering into a definitive award agreement, to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer, the U.S. Department of Commerce would receive a $175 million non-voting interest in Helion based on its most recent Series G preferred stock valuation as a payment for entering into the award, the release said. The CHIPS Act Award announcement adds to a year of milestones achieved by Helion, including a $500 million Series G investment round, becoming the first private fusion energy company to demonstrate deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion and achieve plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, as well as ongoing momentum behind Orion, the company's first fusion power plant, Helion said. Other companies receiving CHIPS awards Helion was among four companies announced today as receiving up to $389 million in awards under the CHIPS and Science Act, according to a separate release from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST. Each company will conduct R&D to address critical projects spanning power semiconductor devices, modules, and materials essential to the semiconductor supply chain, the release said. The other three are, per NIST: * Commonwealth Fusion Systems will receive up to $85 million for R&D to develop semiconductors for radio-frequency plasma heating, power electronics, embedded electronics for fusion diagnostics, and radiation-hardened electronics. * Vertical Semiconductor will receive up to $73 million to advance its vertical gallium nitride power semiconductors, enabling more efficient and compact power delivery for advanced computing, and to demonstrate the technology for the world's first 2.5 MW super intelligence data center rack. * Sibelco will receive up to $56 million to develop next-generation purification and finishing technologies for ultra-high-purity quartz used in crystal growth crucibles, processing glassware, and other hardware throughout the semiconductor value chain. This R&D will provide next-generation ultra-high purity quartz materials to advance the domestic semiconductor supply chain.