HP secures $50M CHIPS Act boost to adapt inkjet tech for life sciences
- Reference: 1724860868
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/08/28/hp_chips_act_cash/
- Source link:
The PC and printer maker has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) with the US Department of Commerce for up to $50 million in direct funding to support the expansion and modernization of its microfluidics semiconductor fabrication plant located in Corvallis, Oregon.
This facility is described as being part of the company's "lab-to-fab" ecosystem in the region, covering research and development activities as well as a commercial manufacturing operation. The investment is expected to create nearly 150 construction jobs and over 100 manufacturing jobs at the site.
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According to the [2]Commerce Department , it hopes to build on HP's expertise in microfluidics and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), technologies it developed for inkjet printers, and adapt these for other purposes. The funding will support manufacturing of silicon devices to form key components of lab equipment used for drug discovery, single-cell research, and cell line development.
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Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the move was to ensure the US continued to lead the world in breakthroughs that require advanced semiconductor technology.
"The Biden-Harris Administration's proposed investment in HP shows how we are investing in every part of the semiconductor supply chain and how important semiconductor technology is to innovation in drug discovery and critical life science equipment," she commented.
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HP president and CEO Enrique Lores [6]welcomed the announcement .
"This proposed investment provides HP with an opportunity to modernize and expand our facility to further invest in our microfluidics technology, which is the study of the behavior and control of fluid on a microscopic scale," he said.
[7]Texas Instruments calculates its US CHIPS Act winnings at $1.6B
[8]GlobalWafers scores $400M to help build US's first 300mm wafer plants in Texas and Missouri
[9]Biden admin fuels up Rocket Lab with $24M for space-grade solar cell chip shop
[10]ASML and Imec unveil pricy High NA EUV playground for chipmakers
"Microfluidics has the potential to drive revolutionary changes across industries, delivering speed, efficiency, and precision, to help pave the way for the next generation of innovation in life sciences and technology."
HP said its Corvallis campus is open to collaborative R&D efforts with academic institutions and startups, highlighting a 25-year lease of part of the site to Oregon State University (OSU). The facility has incubated 39 different companies, including 20 that spun out from OSU faculty and students, it claimed.
Local news outlet [11]Oregon Live reports that Corvallis was once among HP's biggest sites, with 10,000 employees, but about three-quarters of those jobs had been lost since the 1990s. The company previously indicated it would bring jobs back to the area if it managed to secure a chunk of the CHIPS Act funding.
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HP is set to report its Q3 2024 earnings this week, but its [13]Q2 figures showed net revenue of $12.8 billion, down 0.8 percent on a year earlier. This included $8.4 billion for Personal Systems, up 3 percent, while Printing revenue was $4.4 billion, down 8 percent year-on-year. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zs@eB7abTtlU84sxn3PCnAAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2024/08/biden-harris-administration-announces-preliminary-terms-hp-support
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zs@eB7abTtlU84sxn3PCnAAAAIs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.hp.com/us-en/newsroom/blogs/2024/hp-ceo-statement-chips-award.html
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/16/ti_chips_act/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/17/globalwafers_scores_400m_for_building/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/11/rocket_lab_chips_act/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/05/asml_imec_high_na_euv/
[11] https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2024/08/hp-wins-50-million-in-chips-act-funding-for-corvallis-site-plans-to-add-100-jobs.html?outputType=amp
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[13] https://investor.hp.com/news-events/news/news-details/2024/HP-Inc.-Reports-Fiscal-2024-Second-Quarter-Results/default.aspx
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Next thing you know, your replacement bio-printed liver comes on a subscription basis. Perhaps with a centrally-managed server to keep it functional too.
Best have a drink to soothe my worries.
(Joking aside, there is a lot of interest in ink-jet-like approaches wrt medicine.)
You can't use your liver anymore because your left testicle is empty.
You will have to buy a testicle top-up before you can go out drinking
You have been warned
Just be warned. The whole lab stops working when fluid levels are below 20%. Only genuine replacement fluid will work. Lab doors close and lock until fluid is replaced.
Re: You have been warned
Never mind that. If it runs out of red blood cells in one section it won't print the new vaccine in another.
Wanna Equity!
One of the overlooked actions of the terrible, dreadful, etc. etc. (so we're told) Labour government of the 1970s was that it didn't just dole out cash to business but demanded a stake in return. In other words, cash for equity. It was a smart move because giving money to businesses shouldn't be a dole but should be just the government assuming the risk of the enterprise that its investing in. An equity play not only gives you the potential to score if the business takes off but should also give you board seats so that you, or your proxy, can keep an eye on what the business is up to. The only flaw in the idea back then was that it didn't factor a change in government which simply hived off everything to 'friends and family', often at well below book, so something like a Canadian Crown Corporation needs to be created to manage equity at arms' length so politicians can't just loot the good stuff.
These days I'm a US taxpayer so that money is 'my' money. I resent just giving it to companies, especially as we have a well developed capital market (there's plenty of liquidity to buy properties for rent, for example). If we are going to be involved because the market can't get the immediate and massive RoI that its used to then we're going to have to be a VC. If the company won't play then it might be time to invoke the higher purpose -- we have well established precedent for doing stuff in the 'national interest'.
Are they hoping the reputation they've acquired in recent years hasn't preceded them into the lab market?
Or are they hoping there are still people who remember the HP of old as being one of the great makers of lab equipment? But that was spun off into Agilent end other fragments long ago.