NYS Expands Computer Technology Jobs
October 7, 2011
By Neal Tepel
New York State has entered into agreements providing for investments valued at a total of $4.4 billion over the next five years from five leading international companies to create the next generation of computer chip technology: Intel, IBM, GLOBAL FOUNDRIES, TSMC and Samsung. This initiative will result in the creation and retention of approximately 6,900 jobs. No private company will receive any state funds as part of the agreement. Research and development facilities will be located in Albany, Canandaigua, Utica, East Fishkill and Yorktown Heights.
"This unprecedented private investment in New York's economy will create thousands of jobs and make the state the epicenter for the next generation of computer chip technology," Governor Cuomo said. "IBM, which is celebrating 100 years in New York, Intel, which is making its most significant investment in
New York, as well as TSMC, Global Foundries and Samsung now recognize that the state is on its way to becoming a premier location for jobs, which is why these companies are making this major investment."
The investment in the state is made up of two projects. The first project, which will be led by IBM and its partners, will focus on making the next two generations of computer chips. These new chips will power advanced systems of all sizes, including, among other things computers and national security applications. This new commitment by IBM brings its total investment in chip technology in New York to more than $10 billion in the last decade.
The second project, which is a joint effort by Intel, IBM, TSMC, Global Foundries and Samsung, will focus on transforming existing 300mm technology into the new 450mm technology. The new technology will produce more than twice the number of chips processed on today's 300 mm wafers thus lowering costs to deliver future generations of technology with greater value and lower environmental impact.
Semiconductors are central to modern devices from computers and cell phones to automobiles and airplanes and the industry is the cornerstone of the "innovation economy." Semiconductors are the nation's largest export industry and generate billions of dollars in revenue. New York State's investments in the semiconductor industry began in 1988 with the establishment of the advanced semiconductor program at SUNY Albany under the SUNY Graduate Research
Initiative created by Governor Mario Cuomo and was cemented in 1993 with the establishment of the Center for Advanced Technology at SUNY Albany by Governor Mario Cuomo, which later became the basis for the College of Nanoscale Engineering.
