The Department of Commerce has approved a $285 million funding award for the new Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA (SMART USA) Institute.

First announced in November 2024, the SMART USA Institute will be headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. In a statement, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said it brings the institute’s combined total investment to more than $1 billion.

SMART USA will focus on the development, validation, and use of digital twins to improve domestic semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes, in addition to training more than 100,000 workers on digital twin technology and reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with semiconductor manufacturing.

The institute will be part of a network of facilities and collaborators working to increase semiconductor manufacturing competitiveness in the US, including ten national laboratories, five Manufacturing USA institutes, five economic development agencies, and four trade and union groups.

“We are thrilled to have finalized the SMART USA Institute award with the US Department of Commerce,” said Todd Younkin, executive director of SMART USA. “The awarding of the CHIPS Manufacturing Institute is a reminder of the power of collaboration, the importance of ambitious research and development, and the enduring impact from both education and disciplined imagination. The sky’s the limit when we work together.”

With less than two weeks left in office, President Biden has approved a host of CHIPS Act funding agreements in recent weeks ahead of the program’s uncertain future under a second Donald Trump presidency.

In the run-up to the election, President-elect Trump, who takes office this month, criticized the CHIPS and Science Act, saying that the government should have levied tariffs on the semiconductor industry instead of handing out grants and loans to chip companies.