BOISE, Idaho — On Thursday President Joe Biden announced a $6.1 billion chips grant for a Boise-based company, Micron.
"Pride in their hometowns making a comeback, pride in America, pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together," Biden said at the announcement.
The intent of the grant is to help boost American chip manufacturing.
"Memory and storage have never been more critical to our world," Micron CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra said at the announcement. "Memory is everywhere today. It's in your smartphones, it's in your personal computers, it's in the data center, it's in your cars, it's in critical infrastructure. And micron is a global technology leader."
The money will go toward investments Micron is making here in Boise as well as New York. It's going to help support Micron's Boise fabrication plant that broke ground in October.
Another new fab plant will go up in New York, as well.
Mayor Lauren McLean and Governor Brad Little joined President Biden for the announcement in New York.
Mayor McLean said she is excited for what this means for education.
"I was at a STEM action day last year at Riverside Elementary School and a little kindergartener was showing me how to code with this video game....and just walking me through the steps," McLean said. "It dawned on me that, that little girl when she graduates from Timberline will have the opportunity to choose CWI, choose Boise State, choose somewhere else, choose the trades... and then put that education to work right here at home at Micron."
President Biden said the grant will not only boost domestic supply of memory chips... but these new fabs will also create 70,000 jobs across the U.S.
20,000 of those jobs will be right here in Boise.
"What we will see with this investment, is your right, a wide scale of different types of jobs, to be able to grow families with great wages and create opportunity for so many people here," McLean said.
These opportunities won't just be STEM jobs, but also those in construction, trades, engineering and maintenance, she said.
Mehrotra said his team is ready for the work ahead.
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