In our background material we explained how the 2022 CHIPS Act provided $52.7 billion in funding for these investments and related research and education, and how it worked. This spring, a new executive order created the United States Investment Accelerator to help speed up those projects. To explain why that matters, let’s turn to the tech industry.

The great chip shortage of 2021 brought the American auto industry to its knees. Ford had thousands of nearly finished F-150s–America’s best-selling truck–parked in lots, missing just one thing: tiny semiconductors. Assembly lines across the country ground to a halt, workers were sent home and car prices shot through the roof. Shoppers faced months-long waits and record-high prices for both new and used vehicles.

It wasn’t just bad luck. When COVID-19 hit, automakers canceled their chip orders, expecting a slump. But demand for laptops, gaming consoles and work-from-home tech exploded, and chipmakers pivoted to serve Big Tech. By the time carmakers realized their mistake, the production lines in Taiwan and South Korea were fully booked. Add a fire in Japan, a deep freeze in Texas, and a drought in Taiwan, and you had a perfect storm — one that showed how a single $1 chip could stop a $40,000 truck from reaching the road.

The continuity of the Act fell into question when the current administration voiced its displeasure, calling it a “horrible, horrible thing.”

Then along came a new executive order issued by President Donald Trump on March 31, announcing that a new office named the United States Investment Accelerator would be established within the Department of Commerce over the next 30 days. The new office will work with investors on projects worth $1 billion or more to reduce regulatory hurdles across federal and state governments, and yes, speed up approvals.

A sweeping initiative, which aligns with President Trump’s broader approach to deregulation, names only the CHIPS Program Office, which will now fall under the Investment Accelerator. And that’s good news for chip manufacturers building new fabs and the vendors involved in construction. However, there may be a price to pay.

According to Bloomberg, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is negotiating with investors to increase the size of their investments without increasing the awarded funding provided under the CHIPS Act. Setting a precedent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), said it would add $100 billion to its initial $65 billion investment plan in a fab complex in Arizona. Otherwise, there has been no public response from manufacturers involved in new fab projects – yet. A wait-and-see approach or a search for more money?

But construction continues.

Across the country, fab projects funded by the CHIPS Act are reshaping the industrial landscape. In Arizona, TSMC has completed construction of its first fab and is preparing for production, even as timelines have slipped. Intel is building two new fabs in Ohio and expanding facilities in Oregon, New Mexico and Arizona. Samsung’s massive $17 billion fab in Taylor, Texas is expected to be operational this year. Micron has begun work on its upstate New York facility, with plans to invest as much as $100 billion over two decades.

Closer to home, Micron’s rival Texas Instruments is building a new $11 billion fab in Lehi, Utah. It’s part of a broader $30 billion expansion that also includes a large project in Sherman, Texas. TI’s Lehi facility is expected to produce the 300mm analog and embedded processing chips used in everything from cars and industrial systems to power grids. Construction is underway now, and local suppliers are already involved in site work and support services, bringing jobs and long-term investment to Utah.

Nationally, the Commerce Department says more than 50 fabs, expansions, and research centers are underway across 28 states. Four additional U.S.-based fabs are expected to break ground this year, part of a global wave of 18 new semiconductor facilities planned for 2025. These developments, combined with support from the Investment Accelerator, could give U.S. manufacturing the boost it needs to close the gap with Asia and build a more secure chip supply.

Will semiconductor manufacturers increase their investments? We’ll have to wait and see, but the payoff could be worth it–not just for manufacturers but for all of us who rely on chips in our tech, our cars and just about every part of modern life.

Leslie Meredith has been writing about technology for more than a decade. As a mom of four, value, usefulness and online safety take priority. Have a question? Email Leslie at asklesliemeredith@gmail.com.