Tiny Product. Enormous Supply Chain.

A microchip may be smaller than a fingernail, but Texas is building an enormous industrial network around it, from specialty chemicals and testing equipment to rare-earth magnets and university cleanrooms.

Everything Around the Fab

Semiconductor manufacturing usually brings one image to mind: the giant fabrication plant where chips are actually made. Texas is betting just as heavily on everything that has to happen before and after that step.

Through the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, the state is supporting semiconductor manufacturing, design, research and workforce development as part of a broader effort to strengthen domestic production.

That strategy makes more sense when viewed as an ecosystem rather than a collection of individual projects. Texas already employs more than 51,500 people in the semiconductor industry, according to the state’s semiconductor leadership overview.

Recent investments show how specialized the supply chain has become.

In Taylor, Soulbrain is expanding production tied to the specialty chemicals semiconductor manufacturers need. In Georgetown, Schunk Xycarb Technology manufactures and refurbishes silicon carbide-coated graphite, quartz, ceramic and silicon components used during wafer processing.

Then comes testing. FormFactor is building in Farmers Branch, where its operation will produce probe cards used to test integrated circuits during wafer-level manufacturing.

The Chip Needs a Village

Texas is looking even farther upstream.

MP Materials plans a major Northlake manufacturing campus for rare-earth magnets used in advanced semiconductor fabrication, adding another piece to the domestic supply chain.

The state is also putting money into people and research. Texas Tech University is part of that workforce-and-research push, expanding the hands-on infrastructure needed to train students for increasingly specialized semiconductor jobs.

That matters because the next manufacturing competition will depend on more than who can build the biggest fab. It requires chemists, engineers, materials specialists, researchers, technicians and companies making parts most consumers will never see.

Texas has a long history with the technology itself. Jack Kilby developed the integrated circuit at Texas Instruments in 1958, and the state continues to pair manufacturing with the research and development behind new technologies.

The chip gets the attention. Texas is betting on everything the chip cannot exist without.

For a broader look at the companies making things across the state, explore the Guide to Texas directory at https://www.guidetotx.com/manufacturing.