ASM announces $300M expansion of Arizona R&D site

ASM is spending 300 million dollars to double the size of its R&D facilities in Scottsdale, Arizona. The semiconductor equipment maker currently employs over 800 people there and plans to hire an estimated additional 500 over the next six years, creating new job opportunities in engineering as well as research and development.

Arizona has a long history of semiconductor activities, earning it the nickname “Silicon Desert.” ASM has had a presence here since 1976, originally to support Intel, which is expanding existing sites in Chandler (where NXP operates a plant, too). TSMC is currently constructing a fab in Phoenix. “Intel and TSMC are some of our biggest customers, so being able to collaborate with them on R&D benefits the whole semiconductor industry and supply chain,” ASM CEO Benjamin Loh told Reuters.

The investment was announced during a Dutch semiconductor trade mission, led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Economic Affairs Secretary Micky Adriaansens. Participation of the thirty or so companies is at least partially motivated by the US Chips Act, which sets aside 39 billion dollars in subsidies for chip manufacturing and 13 billion dollars for semiconductor research and workforce training.