US Invests $250 Million in I-Pulse to Develop Semiconductor Components

en.Wedoany.com Reported - I-Pulse, co-founded by Robert Friedland, has secured $250 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce's CHIPS program to develop semiconductor components needed for geothermal drilling technology, which uses high-power electrical pulses to break rock.

I-Pulse operates a laboratory in New Mexico. According to a company statement released Thursday, the funding will be used to develop a semiconductor component that is a critical part of geothermal drilling technology, which fractures and softens rock by applying high-power electrical pulses. The CHIPS grant aims to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and reduce reliance on foreign chip supply chains.

This is the latest example of billionaire mining magnate Friedland collaborating with the Trump administration to enhance U.S. supply chain security. Another of Friedland's mining companies, Ivanhoe Electric Inc., is working with the U.S. Export-Import Bank on a debt financing package for a copper project in Arizona. In February, Friedland also attended the launch ceremony of a critical minerals reserve project at the White House Oval Office.

In an interview, Friedland said the company is engaged in extensive discussions with multiple U.S. government agencies to strengthen the nation's reindustrialization. I-Pulse also has a laboratory in France, and its new silicon carbide semiconductors can also be used in systems for underground mining, manufacturing, and defense.

Friedland revealed that I-Pulse, a private company, was valued at over $1 billion a decade ago and is likely to go public within a few years. Its current investors include major mining companies such as Rio Tinto Group and Newmont Corp. He believes the CHIPS funding will enable the company to further advance geothermal technology, which is highly attractive to the U.S. because the limiting factor for artificial intelligence is clean energy, and geothermal energy is a better option than solar or wind power.

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