The CHIPS and Science Act was a “wonderful start,” but more commitments to capital investments are needed, according to Susan Armstrong, SVP for engineering at Qualcomm.

Speaking at the IoT World and AI Summit Austin, Armstrong welcomed the investments the legislation brings, saying lawmakers weren’t talking about chips three years ago.

Signed into law by President Biden back in August, the CHIPS and Science Act includes $52 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production and an investment tax credit for chip plants worth an estimated $24 billion.

However, the legislation included several provisions barring subsidy recipients from building certain facilities in China – an inclusion that joins new rules barring semiconductor manufacturers from exporting AI chips and manufacturing equipment to China.

Armstrong warned that chip supplies need to remain global. 

“If you wanted to get the entire semiconductor supply chain for U.S. products on U.S. soil, it would take $355 to $470 billion in capital expenditure and then to sustain that, $15 billion a year,” she said. 

“The $52 billion (from the CHIPS Act) billion is a wonderful start, but there has to be recognition that the global supply chain for semiconductors is very global, and probably needs to stay global if we are going to continue to have the kinds of successes and build the kinds of AI and applications on top of it,” she added.

This article first appeared in IoT World Today’s sister publication AI Business.