President Biden has awarded $8.5 billion in grants to Intel, representing a major investment designed to boost U.S. semiconductor production, reports The New York Times.

The award, announced during Biden’s visit to the Intel campus in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20, will go to the construction and expansion of Intel facilities around the United States. It is the biggest grant the federal government has made with funding from the CHIPS Act, passed in 2022 to help re-establish the United States as a leader in semiconductor manufacturing.

The effort is at the center of the president’s goal to reduce America’s reliance on foreign countries. Although semiconductors were invented in the United States, only about 10% of the world’s chips are made domestically.

“Nearly all manufacturing of leading-edge chips across the entire industry moved overseas to Asia years ago,” Mr. Biden said. “That’s why today’s investment is such a big deal: We will enable advanced semiconductor manufacturing to make a comeback here in America.”