The Department of Commerce has announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will take over operations of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), ending its management by the National Center for the Advancement of Semiconductor Technology Center (Natcast).
The decision follows a review by the Commerce Department, which found that Natcast had been created unlawfully by officials during the Biden Administration. As a result, an agreement made in January 2025 to provide up to $7.4 billion in federal funding to Natcast was declared invalid. The department stated it will not honor this agreement.
Natcast is a private, non-profit organization formed after the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law in August 2022. The act required the Commerce Department to establish NSTC with goals such as advancing semiconductor research, growing the domestic workforce, and strengthening economic competitiveness and supply chain security.
According to information from the Commerce Department, instead of creating NSTC within its own structure as directed by law, Biden Administration officials established Natcast as an external entity to operate NSTC’s consortium using public funds. Individuals selected for a committee overseeing Natcast’s creation included people with prior connections to the administration or experience in related industries.
Documentation indicates that several former Biden Administration officials took executive roles at Natcast, and some trustees previously worked at either the Commerce Department or on advisory committees connected with CHIPS Act implementation. Legal guidance and corporate recommendations provided by government officials were adopted by Natcast’s board during its formation.
The Commerce Department argues these actions violated federal law prohibiting agencies from creating corporations unless specifically authorized by statute. The agreement between Natcast and the government also excluded standard oversight clauses typically present in federal contracts.
“From the very beginning Natcast served as a semiconductor slush fund that did nothing but line the pockets of Biden loyalists with American tax dollars,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. “The Biden Administration had no authority to manipulate legislation in a way that would allow them to establish, staff, and govern a corporation to act as a government agency. Ending this illegal relationship between Natcast and the NSTC will ensure that the Commerce Department keeps control of taxpayer funds and delivers investments and benefits for all Americans.”
