For some smaller tech companies, the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act represents a world of possibilities that are a welcome change after a challenging two years of global pandemic.
The Act’s impact on startups in tech could be promising, although, so far, much of the focus has been on helping the largest chipmakers like Intel build out multi-billion dollar fabs in the U.S.
One of those startups, Electroninks of Austin, Texas, is hopeful the Act results in capital that lifts industries adjacent to chip manufacturing like its own. The company was founded in 2013 and now has nearly 40 workers. It has developed conductive inks used in printed circuit boards that are part of the manufacturing process of a wide array of electronics.
In one example, last year the company won $1.5 million in small business innovation research funds to develop manufacturing hardware and particle-free conductive inks for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office. More recently, Electroninks announced particle-free silver ink compatible to jet printers for use in ultra-fine line printing used by commercial customers. Strategic partners include InQTel and Applied Materials.
CEO Brett Walker sees a large impact on Electroninks and others from the Act, he said in an interview. He is hopeful Electroninks gets an infusion of cash in the “low millions,” he added.
“There will be a large investment in chip infrastructure,” he said, including advanced materials around semiconductor packaging, including EMI shielding. EMI shielding is a process that protects electrical signals in components from being disrupted by external electromagnetic signals and prevents generated signals from interfering with surrounding components.
Conductive inks are more economical without the need to use a traditional process known as sputtering, Walker said. The Electroninks process does not require application in a vacuum environment and takes 100 times less power. Walker called it a “glorified airbrush” process.
Electroninks claims it is the first to provide particle-free conductive inks in silver, gold, platinum, nickel and copper.
Given its use of such valuable metals, a natural concern is whether the company has access to sufficient supply.
“We do have access to raw materials,” he said. “In post-Covid there has been emphasis on domestic infrastructure. We take raw materials and process them into high performance materials which is key for DOD ...Silver is front and center.”
With the overall supply chain, “definitely there are aways concerns,” Walker added. “Supply chains will always have volatility, but we have been able to maintain a consistent supply chain.”
The CHIPS Act passed with bipartisan support in Congress, a rarity in today’s climate and something tech companies have noticed. “Clearly there have been some fairly visible partisan divides,” Walker said. “Supply chain security in the U.S. is a huge issue and both sides agree. There’s always going to be hits thrown one way or the other, but there’s overarching support in one form or another for supporting the supply chain.”
Walker agrees with a common assessment that it will take three to six months for federal officials to develop regulations and provide insights on the exact way that largesse from the CHIPS Act will be dispersed. “There are a lot of details to be worked out, but it’s encouraging to see investment domestically,” he added.
The pandemic severely hurt many companies, but Electroninks was able to garner defense contracts during the past two years. “It’s been weird and interesting,” he said. Over that time, defense contracts “turned into a great opportunity.”