The Commerce Department awarded SandboxAQ $500 million to use physics-based AI for semiconductor materials discovery. The target is not a new chip, but the chemicals, magnets, catalysts, and backup-power systems that fabs need to run.
President Trump says Apple has agreed to work with Intel on U.S.-made chips, but Apple and Intel have not announced a signed foundry deal. The real test is whether Intel’s 18A-P process can move from risk production to Apple-grade yield, volume, and product trust.