Joe Biden says US$20 billion IBM investment will boost US in tech competition with China
- The president cited the plan as part of a larger manufacturing boom spurred by the Chips Act, which seeks to bolster the US semiconductor industry
- In addition to microchip R&D, IBM’s investment will also cover mainframe technology, artificial intelligence and quantum computing
US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that a US$20 billion investment by IBM in New York’s Hudson River Valley would help give the United States a technological edge against China.
The president cited IBM’s commitment as part of a larger manufacturing boom, spurred by this summer’s passage of a US$280 billion measure intended to boost the semiconductor industry and scientific research.
That legislation was needed for national and economic security, Biden said in Poughkeepsie, adding that “the Chinese Communist Party actively lobbied against” it.
“The United States has to lead the world of producing these advanced chips – this law is going to make sure that it will,” Biden said.
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The Chips and Science Act, which Biden signed in August, was a rare bill for which the president was able to win bipartisan support.
IBM’s US$20 billion investment over the next decade is intended to bolster research and development and manufacturing of semiconductors, mainframe technology, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
“As we tackle large-scale technological challenges in climate, energy, transportation and more, we must continue to invest in innovation and discovery – because advanced technologies are key to solving these problems and driving economic prosperity, including better jobs, for millions of Americans,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM’s chairman and CEO.
IBM’s commitment comes on the heels of chip maker Micron announcing this week an investment of up to US$100 billion over the next 20-plus years to build a plant in upstate New York that could create 9,000 factory jobs.
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Biden has sought to capitalise on the investment announcements ahead of next month’s midterm congressional elections. Last month, he travelled to Ohio to speak at the site of Intel Corp’s planned US$20 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility.
The Hudson Valley, home of IBM’s Poughkeepsie site, was an economic powerhouse during America’s Industrial Revolution, but regional jobs dried up during the second half of the last century, as companies fled to lower-cost locations.
IBM, which laid off thousands of people in the region in the 1990s when it moved chip and other manufacturing, said it now plans to make the site “a global hub of the company’s quantum computing development, just as it is today for mainframes”.
IBM did not provide a detailed breakdown of its US$20 billion investment plans.
Additional reporting by Reuters
