US Senate approves massive $52B spend on easing the chip shortage

After much deliberation, and many edits, the US Innovation and Competition Act has finally had enough votes to pass through the Senate. That's great news for PC builders like us, because it means a massive investment in the US semiconductor industry should be incoming.

Virtual reality (Image credit: Valve) Best VR headset: which kit should you choose?

Best graphics card: you need serious GPU power for VR

Best gaming laptop: don't get tied to your desktop in VR

The bill, originally the Endless Fontier Act, includes a host of big investments for US-based technology companies. With $52 billion pointed at the semiconductor industry alone, this could mean immense relief around the current global chip shortage—the one that's resulted in the tragic state of PC building we find ourselves in today.

It means we may start to see our beloved PC components finally becoming less scarce, with more foundry capacity arising on home turf in the United States. It will be a slow process as getting new fabs up and running and old ones updated takes time, but it will eventually help ease a global reliance on manufacturing in Taipei, South Korea, and China.

President and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, John Neuffer, praised those who voted for the passing of the bill, calling the move a "Pivotal step toward strengthening US semiconductor production."

He went on to call for legislation to be sent swiftly to the President's desk, confident that the "Enactment of these investments would help strengthen America’s economy, national security, technology leadership, and global competitiveness for years to come."

While I won't get into politics here, perhaps a bit of healthy competition will be good for the tech industry—just think of the space race. The move is likely to fire up the rusty tech machine, and create opportunities for the industry to move past its current manufacturing rut.