UK chipmaker seeks Biden subsidy for US plant

Paragraf boss Dr Simon Thomas described Rishi Sunak's £1bn semiconductor strategy as «sluggish». Photo: Jason Bye

One of Britain&#39 The most famous microchip company has applied for a subsidy in the US after criticizing Rishi Sunak's «sluggish» semiconductor strategy.

Simon Thomas, founder of chip maker Paragraf, is seeking money from US President Joe Biden. #39;The Chips Act, which gives manufacturers billions of dollars to push for onshore supplies.

If the money is secured, it will allow the Cambridge company to comply with warnings that it will relocate to the US. Paragraf is expected to make a decision on the move in the next year or two.

Last week, Mr Thomas called Rishi Sunak's £1bn semiconductor strategy «sluggish», dismissing the prime minister's efforts. focus on the UK's strengths in research and design, rather than competing with the tens of billions of subsidies offered in the EU and US.

The lack of direct support for chip manufacturing has led to warnings that companies could move investments abroad. The US Chip Act contains $39 billion (£31 billion) in incentives for companies to set up a factory there.

Mr Thomas said that Paragraf, a subsidiary of the University of Cambridge, had recently applied for funding under a program that would support manufacturing in a specific US state. He said funding details should be made public in July, October or November, when government officials decide how much money will be available.

1904 Chip production in the west declines.

Mr. Thomas said: «Government support is a powerful catalyst for incoming investment.»

«The opportunity to go to the US and say, 'We have a chip law.' money,” it acts like a multiplier because you can go back to private equity and say I got a huge amount of support from the government.”

Paragraf has raised around £67m in funding led by British investor Parkwalk Advisors. Its ultra-thin and sensitive graphene-based chips can be used in digital medical tests, electric motors, and precision agriculture. The taxpayer is also a shareholder through the British Business Bank Patient Capital Fund.

Mr Thomas said he would like to continue to establish his company in the UK and expand in the UK, but has repeatedly expressed frustration with access to talent and delays in connecting production facilities to the grid.

Most of the company's customers are in the US, and Mr. Thomas said that if most of its business is conducted there, it will add pressure to move the company abroad.< /p>

He said: «If we have infrastructure, capabilities and mass production where our markets exist, a decision will need to be made within the next year or two years.»

p>< p>IQE, another British semiconductor company, said it would also consider applying for funding in the coming weeks. Last week, its chief executive, Américo Lemos, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo as the U.S. seeks to attract overseas semiconductor companies.