UK announces $8.7 billion semiconductor investment plan focusing on research and design

After the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea and other countries and regional organizations announced strategies to develop semiconductors, the United Kingdom also joined the ranks.

On Friday local time, the UK announced an investment of 1 billion pounds (approximately 8.7 billion yuan) in its semiconductor industry, aiming to strengthen the domestic industry and chip supply chain.

The UK will focus on developing semiconductor design

The UK government's newly established Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said the UK will invest £200 million in 2023-25, rising to £1 billion over the next ten years. The strategy focuses on strengthening the UK’s position in semiconductor design.

"Our new strategy will focus on our strengths, such as in areas such as research and design, so that we can build a competitive advantage on the global stage," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.

Currently, Sunak is in Japan to attend the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' meeting. At the meeting, Sunak reached an agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to launch a "semiconductor partnership" to jointly research and strengthen supply chain resilience. In addition to Japan, the UK has also signed a similar agreement with South Korea.

Although the UK has stated that it will announce plans to support investment in semiconductor manufacturing before this autumn, the focus of the UK strategy this time is still on design and research rather than manufacturing semiconductors.

Britain follows in the footsteps of many other countries

The UK's strategy comes after a global chip shortage disrupted a range of industries and hit car production during the coronavirus pandemic.

Although the shortage of semiconductors has been significantly alleviated recently, many countries around the world have still announced semiconductor development strategies to show their long-term support for the semiconductor industry.

The United States announced US$52.7 billion in chip subsidies last year, while the EU chip law plans to introduce about 43 billion euros in semiconductor investment. In addition, other countries including Japan, India and South Korea have also announced their own semiconductor strategies.

With the positive measures taken by other countries, there are also calls in the UK for the government to speed up the development of the semiconductor industry.

Last year, a group of British parliamentarians issued a report saying that the UK lacked an end-to-end semiconductor supply chain, which would make it particularly vulnerable to future chip supply disruptions. The latest strategy of the British government can also be seen as a response to the pressure on the British Parliament.