Semiconductor leaders tell Senate U.S. must expand domestic chip production and workforce to sustain AI lead

Executives from AMD and other firms told the Senate Commerce Committee that the nation’s ability to lead in artificial intelligence depends on a resilient, end‑to‑end semiconductor supply chain and a larger domestic manufacturing footprint.

Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD, told senators that the CHIPS and Science Act has helped raise attention and investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing but that more is needed across the entire supply chain—from wafers to packaging and test. She noted AMD’s partnerships with the Department of Energy on supercomputing and emphasized that chips are “a foundation to all of this.”

Su said U.S. companies must continue to develop high‑performance accelerators and bring more manufacturing back to American soil. She also urged continued federal investment in talent, university research and public‑private partnerships that shorten research‑and‑development cycles.

Committee members cited recent commercial partnerships and grants as examples of progress and pressed witnesses on the role of export policy and standards in ensuring U.S. technologies are widely adopted. Witnesses agreed that making chip design, production and support services readily available to domestic firms strengthens national security and global competitiveness.

Ending: Senators and industry leaders called for further federal action—building on the CHIPS and Science Act—to expand on‑shore manufacturing, address packaging and back‑end production steps, and invest in workforce development to meet the demands of AI computing.