Total NT 2 billion, Taiwan, China Province of China launched two chip design subsidy plans

Source: Xinzhixun

    On December 24, it was reported that the Ministry of Economy of Taiwan, China Province of China announced two plans on December 22, namely, the "IC Design Summit Subsidy Plan" and the "Advanced Development Subsidy Plan for Driving IC Designers", aiming at the development of AI, high-performance computing and automotive applications. At the same time, it will provide chip manufacturers with chip production subsidies, with a total fund of about NT $2 billion, which can be applied for from now on until March 29, 2024.

    The Ministry of Economy of Taiwan, China Province of China said that in the part of the IC design top subsidy plan, it is mainly to encourage the industry to develop innovative chips in the fields of 7nm and below chip manufacturing process, advanced heterogeneous integrated packaging technology, and heterogeneous integrated MEMS (micro electro mechanical) sensing technology.

    In addition, in the advanced development subsidy program for IC design industry practitioners in the island, the subsidy will be divided into two categories. Firstly, subsidies will be provided for advanced, advantageous, and special chip research and development, covering photomask, semiconductor IP, offline production, CyberShuttle, electronic design automation, etc., with a maximum subsidy limit of NT $200 million.

    In response to this, the Ministry of Economic Affairs explained that businesses can develop more advanced process chips of 16nm and below, combined with high-value products such as artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and automotive applications in the market, or advantage chips with high international trust, applied to industries such as information security, communication, drones, aerospace, or special chips that promote the development of industries such as biomedicine and agriculture, and have a leading and advantageous position in this field.

    Secondly, the subsidy for chip production is currently limited to co production of photomasks and wafers, with a maximum subsidy limit of NT $10 million per transaction.

    The Ministry of Economic Affairs emphasizes that the maximum subsidy amount shall not exceed 50% of the application amount, and operators must implement relevant research and development plans within 3 years of application. It is estimated that there will be around 3 to 5 beneficiaries of the first type of subsidy, but it still depends on the actual application and subsequent budget planning. In addition, the applicant must also meet the requirements of not being a Chinese funded investment enterprise in Taiwan, and must provide service performance as proof for IC design, IC design services, semiconductor IP, and EDA related businesses.