Governor Abbott Announces Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund Grant To Austin Community College

TEXAS, August 14 - August 14, 2025 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that a Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF) grant of $3.6 million has been extended to Austin Community College District (ACC) for an advanced semiconductor manufacturing lab and precision welding program at the Round Rock Campus in East Williamson County. This is the first TSIF grant to a Texas higher education institution.

“Texas continues to lead America’s resurgence in semiconductor manufacturing thanks to our highly skilled and growing workforce,” said Governor Abbott. “Already recognized as a national model for semiconductor workforce training, ACC will establish a new semiconductor advanced manufacturing lab and a precision welding skills lab on their campus in Round Rock. Working together with our higher education partners and industry leaders, we will ensure the chips that drive the innovative technologies of tomorrow are made in Texas.”

ACC’s initiative will establish the 2,600-square-foot Austin Semiconductor Advanced Manufacturing Lab, which will include a classroom and simulation of a real-world semiconductor manufacturing environment, complete with locker room and gowning area, airlock transition space, simulated clean room, a Fanuc Fenceless robotics system, a Smart Factory Machine Sensor Trainer, process metrology microscopes, and automation studio software. In addition, ACC will establish a new welding fabrication skills lab in an existing, 3,728-square-foot space on the Round Rock campus with state-of-the-art tools to train students in precision welding and fabrication to support semiconductor manufacturing.

“I congratulate Austin Community College Round Rock in becoming the first Texas institution of higher education to be awarded a Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant,” said Senator Charles Schwertner. “This grant is a testament to our state’s commitment to building a world-class semiconductor industry and expanding our high-tech workforce. By providing state-of-the-art, hands-on training to meet real industry needs, ACC’s Advanced Manufacturing Lab and precision welding program will create opportunities for students across Texas, ensuring our state remains at the epicenter of cutting-edge innovation in the advanced manufacturing sector.”

“We are deeply grateful to the State of Texas and the Governor’s Office for this generous investment in Austin Community College and the communities we serve,” said ACC District Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. “This grant empowers us to build the kind of future our students deserve. We’re expanding facilities and opening doors for hundreds of new students each year to step into life-changing careers. This is what it means to be a college of the community — meeting the needs of our regional economy while lifting up every learner we serve.”

View more information about Austin Community College.

Governor Abbott signed into law the Texas CHIPS Act in 2023 to establish the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, an incentive program to encourage the continued leadership of Texas in semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing, as well as the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium. These programs, administered by the Texas CHIPS Office, a division within the Governor’s Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, are designed to leverage Texas’ investments in the semiconductor industry, encourage semiconductor-related companies to expand in the state, further develop the expertise and capacity of Texas institutions of higher education, and maintain the state’s position as the nation’s leader in semiconductor manufacturing.