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More dollars from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund will be dispersed to the area as Gov. Greg Abbott announced Jan. 14 that a $15.2-million grant will go to Tekscend Photomask in Round Rock.
Overview
Tekscend manufactures components in semiconductor chip production called photomasks.
The grant money will go to an expansion of the company’s photomask production capacity by 40% at its Round Rock manufacturing facility, according to a news release.
Additionally, the funds will go to modernizing the facility’s equipment to improve efficiency and allow the company to produce components down to 12 nanometers, which is used for manufacturing AI, industrial devices, automotive components and more.
The project is expected to create 50 new jobs.
What they're saying
“The support from TSIF enables us to accelerate our expansion—boosting both our technical capabilities and our production capacity,“ Tekscend Photomask Round Rock President John Nykaza said in the release. “This investment not only strengthens the regional supply chain but also creates additional high-skilled jobs here in Texas, ensuring we can meet the growing research and development and commercial photomask needs of our customers for years to come."
The announcement comes as production at the Samsung semiconductor facility in Taylor starts ramping up with plans to be operational by 2026, said Michele Glaze, senior director of communications at Samsung Electronics.
The state program, which launched in 2023, also recently awarded Texas State Technical College a $3.5-million grant to train semiconductor technicians at its East Williamson County campus in Hutto.
