Media Contact: Hannah Robinson, hannah.robinson [at] chips.gov (hannah[dot]robinson[at]chips[dot]gov) 

Today, CHIPS for America announced a new $5 million Entrepreneurial Fellowship Pilot Program, funded by the Biden-Harris Administration's CHIPS and Science Act, to support up to 10 early-stage companies focused on innovation in semiconductor manufacturing technologies. 

The application portal for the Pilot Program can be found here: https://www.activate.org/apply . Applications for the 2025 Cohort will close on October 23, 2024. The first cohort of CHIPS R&D Entrepreneurial Fellows are expected to be selected in spring 2025. 

Consistent with the CHIPS R&D objectives of accelerating the development and commercial deployment of foundational semiconductor technologies, the Pilot will allow Fellows to develop their technologies and business operations while identifying the commercial strategies and manufacturing scale-up opportunities needed for sustained domestic production.

CHIPS R&D will oversee the Pilot in collaboration with Activate.org, a nonprofit organization that launched the entrepreneurial fellowship model at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and has partnered with other Federal agencies. Interested parties must apply through Activate. 

In bringing the fellowship model to CHIPS for America, CHIPS R&D aims to demonstrate the potential for future entrepreneurial fellowships in support of programs such as the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), CHIPS Manufacturing USA Program, and CHIPS Metrology Program.

To learn more about the fellowship program, including how to apply, visit https://www.activate.org/apply.