$40 Million Grant for New York State’s Semiconductor Superhighway

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Will Western New York become a major semiconductor manufacturer? Some policymakers, education leaders and business leaders say we’re on the right track.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was in Buffalo today to announce $40 million in federal funding. He said it would help Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse become what he calls “New York’s semiconductor superhighway.”

Schumer said this will help fuel the resources we need to start making our own semiconductor chips in Western New York.

Rupa Shanmugan, CEO of SoPark in Lackawanna, hopes that will happen soon. She said the company has relied on other suppliers for electronic components for years.

“We are facing many problems and concerns related to the shortage of materials and electronic chips. So this means a lot to us, because in the future, we will no longer become dependent on the supply of components,” Shanmugan said.

Schumer was at the Northland Workforce Training Center on Tuesday to announce the multimillion-dollar award.

“And if you think we’re exaggerating … it’s estimated that within a few years, a quarter of all chips made in America will be made within a few miles of I-90,” Schumer said.

He said the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse Tech Hub is the first in the nation to win the $40 million prize from his Chips and Science Act.

Peter Aarons is the executive director of the Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance. He has called our region the “Silicon Valley of the Northeast.”