BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — Gov. Greg Abbott joined state leaders in Bryan on Thursday to break ground on a new $226 million semiconductor research facility at the Texas A&M University RELLIS campus.
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The project gives students a hands-on space to design computer chips, test new technology, and improve how they are made. The facility will also train students for high-demand jobs in semiconductor engineering.
"The future is the pathway laid by microchips," Abbott said.
Semiconductor chips act as the brains behind everyday technology people use, powering everything from phones to cars.
"Semiconductors power everything from phones, vehicles, defense systems," Texas A&M Chancellor Glenn Heger said.
"Every sector depends on them. Energy, healthcare, defense, and communications," Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents Jay Graham said.
Right now, most chips are made overseas. The new facility is part of a larger effort to bring more of that work back to the United States. Leaders say the goal is to strengthen both the workforce and Texas' role in the future of chip manufacturing.
"It is truly an existential threat to the United States if we don't lean into it, step up to it, and ensure that we lead the way forward," Abbott said.
"If we live in a world where any country at a whim can choke us all from being able to access the microchips that we need to operate our daily lives. It's like turning the lights off and us not having any operable capability whatsoever," Abbott said.
"The race is on and the urgency exists for Texas to be microchip independent," Abbott said.
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"At Texas A&M we are making a clear choice to keep those jobs, that innovation, and those opportunities close to home," Texas State Representative Paul Dyson said.
The semiconductor research facility is expected to open at the Texas A&M RELLIS campus in 2028.
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