Posts Tagged: funding
GlobalFoundries secures $1.5 billion in CHIPS Act funding for US expansion
The Biden administration is granting $ 1.5 billion in funding to GlobalFoundries to bolster semiconductor production under the CHIPS Act. The company, which spun out from AMD in 2009 and also has access to $ 1.6 billion in loans from the CHIPS Program Office, will split the cash between three projects.
First, GlobalFoundries will build a new fabrication facility in Malta, New York, where it aims to produce “high value technologies not currently available in the US,” the Department of Commerce said in a statement. GlobalFoundries says it will use the facility to build chips for a range of industries and applications, including the automotive, aerospace, defense and AI spaces. Construction is expected to start in 2025.
Secondly, GlobalFoundries plans to expand its existing facility in Malta by incorporating tech from its Singapore and Germany plants with the aim of making more semiconductors for use in cars and trucks. This expansion, combined with the new fab, will enable GlobalFoundries to triple the capacity of its Malta campus over the next decade or so. Once all phases of both projects are complete, GlobalFoundries expects to increase wafer production to 1 million per year across the plants.
Last but not least, the remaining funding will go toward modernizing an existing fab in Burlington, Vermont. The aim is to build the first US plant capable of high-volume manufacturing of next-generation gallium nitride on silicon semiconductors for electric vehicles, smartphones, the power grid and other key technologies. The plant will use entirely carbon-free energy, while an on-site solar system will provide up to nine percent of annual power needs.
Through public-private partnerships, GlobalFoundries plans to invest more than $ 12 billion into the sites over the next 10-plus years. New York is also supporting the Malta projects with $ 575 million in performance-based Green CHIPS tax credits, while the New York Power Authority is investing at least $ 30 million.
The Department of Commerce says the three projects are expected to create 1,500 manufacturing positions and around 9,000 construction jobs over the next 10 years. The positions are slated to pay fair wages and offer benefits including childcare.
Aligned with the broader aims of the CHIPS Act, the investment is designed to improve domestic semiconductor supply chains. GlobalFoundries says that there are only four companies that can deliver “current and mature foundry capabilities” at its scale outside of China, and it’s the only one of those based in the US.
Last year, the company reached a direct supply agreement with GM to provide the automaker with US-built processors and help it avoid the kinds of chip shortages that caused a significant slowdown in car manufacturing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. GlobalFoundries agreed to create an exclusive capacity corridor for GM chips. GlobalFoundries struck a chip deal with Ford in 2021 as well.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/globalfoundries-secures-15-billion-in-chips-act-funding-for-us-expansion-172754429.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Jury rules Elon Musk is not liable for shareholder losses after ‘funding secured’ tweets
Elon Musk is off the hook for his 2018 tweets claiming he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private for $ 420 a share. A jury found that Musk was not liable for Tesla investors’ losses, following a weeks-long trial in San Francisco.
The verdict is a major victory for Musk, who could have been liable for billions of dollars in damages. Musk had testified in federal court that just because he tweets something, it "does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly." He also argued that he could have used his shares of SpaceX to fund the deal.
The shareholders who brought the class action suit had argued that Musk’s statements about funding were false, and that they lost vast amounts of money due to stock fluctuations in the aftermath of Musk’s tweets. But while the judge in the case concluded that the tweets were "objectively false and reckless," the jury didn’t find that Musk had deliberately misled the public.
While the verdict ends the years-long saga of the “funding secured” tweets, the posts weren’t entirely without consequences for Musk. He settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018, and stepped down from his role as Tesla board chair as a condition of the settlement. Musk has long decried the SEC settlement and has said he was “forced to admit I lied to save Tesla’s life.”
In a statement to Bloomberg following the verdict, Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, said "the jury got it right." Musk also weighed in — naturally, via tweet — saying he was "deeply appreciative."
Thank goodness, the wisdom of the people has prevailed!
I am deeply appreciative of the jury’s unanimous finding of innocence in the Tesla 420 take-private case.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2023
Update 2/3 7:19 PM ET: Added Elon Musk's tweet about the verdict.
Elon Musk defends ‘funding secured’ tweets in Tesla shareholder trial
Elon Musk said that just because he tweets something, it "does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly." The Tesla chief took the witness stand in a San Francisco federal court to defend himself (and the tweets he made back in 2018) in a lawsuit filed by a group of the automaker's shareholders. "I think you can absolutely be truthful but can you be comprehensive? Of course not," he added, regarding Twitter's character limits. If you'll recall, Musk famously tweeted in August 2018 that he was "considering taking Tesla private at $ 420" and that he was already able to secure funding. "Investor support is confirmed," he said in a follow-up tweet.
The CEO later revealed that he was in talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which reportedly expressed interest in Tesla as part of the country's bid to lessen its reliance on oil. However, the deal didn't materialize, and he later penned a lengthy post on the automaker's website to say that it's staying public.
As CNBC notes, shareholders blamed those "funding secured" tweets for their significant financial losses, leading them to file a class action lawsuit against Musk. Tesla's shares apparently remained highly volatile in the weeks that followed. The executive, however, downplayed his tweets' impact and said that they don't necessarily affect stock prices: "There have been many cases where I thought that if I were to tweet something, the stock price would go down. For example, at one point I tweeted that I thought that, in my opinion, the stock price was too high…and it went went higher, which was, which is, you know, counterintuitive."
In addition to the shareholder lawsuit, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Musk over his tweets, calling them "false and misleading statements" that could be constituted as fraud. Musk and Tesla paid $ 20 million each to settle with the SEC, and the executive had to step down as board chairman. The SEC also required company lawyers to approve any Tesla-related tweet Musk makes — a condition the CEO tried (and failed) to get out of last year.
Aside from defending his tweets, Musk criticized short sellers during his testimony, telling the court that short-selling "should be made illegal." He added: "It is a means for, in my opinion, bad people on Wall Street to steal money from investors. Not good." Another piece of information to take away from his time on the witness stand is that nobody can tell Musk to stop tweeting. When lawyers asked him about the advice he got to refrain from posting on Twitter after calling a British cave diver a "pedo guy," Musk said: "I continued to tweet, yes."
According to Reuters, Musk only testified for less than 30 minutes and that he's not done answering lawyers' questions. He's expected to take the witness stand again to explain why he wrote the funding tweets and why he insisted that he had Saudi Arabia's backing.
House approves $100 billion in broadband funding for rural areas
The US House of Representatives approved the Moving Forward Act this week, a $ 1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that puts $ 100 billion toward bringing high-speed broadband to underserved areas. The ambitious bill also allocates funds toward transporta…
Engadget RSS Feed
EU lending bank aims to cut funding for fossil fuel projects by 2020
Engadget RSS Feed
Self-healing space suits among 18 ideas to receive NASA funding
Engadget RSS Feed
GNI YouTube innovation funding: supporting 87 news organizations in 23 countries to build video capabilities and innovate with new formats
Hailing from 23 countries around the world, they represent a diverse array of broadcasters, traditional and digital publishers, local media, agencies and creators, but all share a commitment to quality journalism and a spirit of innovation.
Many of these projects are focused on expanding newsroom video operations and trying out new ways of reporting news through video — from reaching younger audiences online to exploring live and fact-checking formats. Other projects look at the sustainability of news organizations, including work on new business models and programs to support a healthy news ecosystem. Here’s a sample of some of the projects funded:
- Advance Local (United States): U.S. publisher Advance Local will build out a new format for local news storytelling, enabling them to connect more deeply with their communities across the country. They will start in Michigan, where MLive Media Group (Mlive.com) will connect directly with its viewers, providing avenues for action on topics of important local interest, giving viewers the information they need to have their voice heard on issues of the day.
- The Economist (United Kingdom): British publisher The Economist will strengthen its video production facilities and expertise, enabling it to launch a weekly video format that will explore the true story behind trending news topics. Through live streaming and audience engagement tools, viewers will be able to interact with the story along with the producers, their processes and sources. The new format aims to give viewers the tools to spot misinformation, analyze news sources and join the conversation.
- HugoDécrypte (France): A top French news creator, HugoDécrypte will staff and train a production team to create a studio-based live news show. The show will form an on-screen meeting place for HugoDécrypte’s YouTube community to learn about and debate the key news issues of the day. It will consist of regular segments including news bulletins, fact-checking and interviews with well-known political figures and subject matter experts.
- La Nación (Argentina): One of Argentina’s leading newspapers, La Nación will enhance their video operations at large. In business since 1870, La Nación has a rich history in print journalism, which they are extending to video. This funding will be used to grow their video team, improve digital video skills and increase output, enabling them to deliver engaging content, including behind the scenes snapshots of their hard-hitting investigative journalism and fresh takes on news of the day through video digests.
- Narasi TV (Indonesia): Independent Indonesian journalist Najwa Shihab’s media company will mobilize its community across the country’s 34 provinces. It will host workshops to train budding citizen journalists on visual storytelling, news video production and media literacy, encouraging more Indonesians to become credible content creators as well as critical consumers of media. Meanwhile, Narasi TV’s own investigative journalism team will staff up their video team to produce more in-depth reports, particularly in hotly contested parts of the country in the run-up to Indonesia’s general elections.
- Thairath (Thailand): The digital arm of one of Thailand’s oldest news publishers, Thairath, will create a rights management platform for Thailand’s freelance journalists. This platform will help Thai “stringers” more easily manage their footage rights from media companies. By protecting and promoting the important work of independent Thai journalists, the effort will support both the Thai media ecosystem and global news agencies seeking news about Thailand.
Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to supporting a strong future for news video. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing insights gained from the projects and giving newsrooms the opportunity to benefit from the learnings, as we work together to support the development of long-term, sustainable news video businesses.
For more information about YouTube’s work with the news industry, please visit our website. We look forward to seeing how our partners across the globe push the boundaries of video journalism.
Timothy Katz, Director of News Partnerships, YouTube