Go-Semi:
Building the NY Nano-Corridor
The COVID-19 pandemic shook up the global supply chain for semiconductors at a time when demand soared as many people shifted to working at home.
Factory shutdowns and shipping delays devastated the industry and caused government and industry leaders to reevaluate the semiconductor supply chain. Even post-COVID, tenuous geopolitical concerns in Asia were seen as a threat to a steady supply chain.
United States lawmakers responded by taking action to build a domestic supply chain for semiconductor manufacturing, a critical move to avoid production and logistical delays. Semiconductor manufacturing and research entities in central New York have emerged as leaders in this effort.
In 2023, to facilitate semiconductor investment in New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul instituted GO-SEMI: the Governor’s Office of Semiconductor Expansion, Management, and Integration within Empire State Development (ESD). She tasked the office with facilitating Micron’s entrée into Clay, New York, with its $100 billion megafab build in Clay, New York, as well as the development of a semiconductor ecosystem to support the industry.
Hochul’s initiative comes on the heels of significant federal and state investments in the semiconductor industry. In 2022, Congress passed the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act, which authorized nearly $53 billion for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, research and development, and workforce.
At the same time, New York lawmakers passed the Green CHIPS legislation with the goals of creating jobs, jumpstarting economic growth, lowering greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing and making the state a hub for semiconductor manufacturing. The act allocated $10 billion for performance-based incentive packages, complementing those offered by the federal government. The result? New York has become an attractive place to do business.
A few months later is when Micron announced that it would make a historic megafab investment in the state with the construction of the largest-ever cleanroom space in U.S. history. Over 20 years in the largest private investment in the state’s history, the company will spend $100 billion constructing four 600,000 square-foot cleanrooms. The project will create 9,000 high-paying jobs as well as over 40,000 other jobs in the community.
The team of economic development specialists at GO-SEMI is dedicated to making Micron’s entry into New York a smooth one, but beyond that, they’ll be working to build a network of second- and third-tier suppliers and a skilled workforce for chip manufacturing.
“It’s not about building one big project here and there but building a robust and resilient semiconductor ecosystem here in New York and across the United States as well,” said Merideth Andreucci, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of GO-SEMI.
Investments totaling $123 billion in the state’s semiconductor industry in the last three years have positioned the state as a leader in the business and have offered lucrative opportunities for supply chain businesses.
GO-SEMI is working with economic development and educational organizations in the state’s 10 economic regions to help New York businesses take advantage of the historic opportunities presented by semiconductor manufacturing.
“The I-90 corridor is fast turning into a semiconductor highway,” Andreucci said. The area has a concentration of large fabs, supply chain companies, and NY CREATES. NY CREATES is the nation’s largest and most advanced non-profit semiconductor R&D facility, the Albany NanoTech Complex where scientists are developing the next generation of chips. This combination will be a catalyst for economic growth, drawing investment across the region.
“The opportunities are really significant and immense and extend far beyond the individual jobs that are going to come with Micron and GlobalFoundries’ (GF) expansion,” Andreucci said. GF, the world’s third largest chip foundry is investing $11.6 billion over 10 years to construct a new 358,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at its Fab 8 semiconductor manufacturing site in Malta, New York.
Businesses that support semiconductor manufacturing are numerous, for example, companies that make specialty materials required for chip production like high purity gases. There will also be the need for logistics- and warehousing-related suppliers. “Construction companies will have a tremendous opportunity here,” Adreucci said, noting that Micron’s schedule shows 16 years of ongoing construction at the Clay site.
Both Micron and GF received incentives from the state. “The conditions are that they make sure that a certain percentage of their businesses are focused on small and local businesses,” Andreucci said, noting that this helps to provide opportunities for many small companies to do business with large manufacturers in the semiconductor industry.
“It’s really core to our strategy to make sure that all communities in the state that have a value proposition to these projects have an opportunity to get a piece of it,” she said, pointing out that the success of large projects such as Micron and GF depends on a diverse and regional supply chain. “Servicing, remanufacturing and consumables are not going to be as location-dependent,” Andreucci said. For example, one chemical manufacturer will not be located close to Micron, because the company wants to be able to service both Micron and GF. “Rural communities in the middle have good opportunities to host those kinds of investments,” she said.
GO-SEMI’s team meets with economic development and government organizations throughout the state to identify the unique strengths of each area and how those relate to various aspects of the semiconductor supply chain. “The whole notion of this is truly a collaborative effort around the state with all our different partners,” Andreucci said. “We all work in lock step with each other. No one can do it alone.”
Building the strong ecosystem that chip foundries require also involves developing the workforce with qualified employees. GO-SEMI is working closely with academic institutions including community colleges to make sure that they are ready to provide the education needed to fuel the semiconductor industry.
New York State also enacted a series of tax incentives focused on the supply chain, including on-the-job training for workers. Andreucci said that much employee development in the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries is done on the job. In May last year, Hochul signed a law providing semiconductor manufacturers a tax credit of up to 75 percent of wages, salaries, other compensation, training costs and wrap-around services up to $25,000 per employee.
Also in 2025, New York launched a funding program aimed at businesses that are looking to become supply chain ready, targeting business service support such as legal and accounting services for small businesses. “This will help companies become suppliers when they want to,” Andreucci said, noting that there are certifications and other requirements necessary to be a supplier.
Other funding opportunities are Empire State Development’s FAST NY Shovel-Ready Grant Program and POWERUP. FAST NY provides up to $200 million in grant money to prepare and develop sites to shovel-readiness.
Concierge Service
With so many programs, incentives, funding sources and sites available to semiconductor manufacturers and supply chain businesses, it might seem like a time-consuming task to navigate it all. GO-SEMI’s staff makes it easy for businesses to assess and access all the resources that can help to make them successful. “We serve as a concierge-style service,” Andreucci said. Economic development specialists meet with companies to identify what their goals and needs are and then match them with the resources that can assist. “ESD is a large agency that has a lot of financial and technical resources available to businesses,” she said. “We serve as a bridge to all different types of economic development programs.”
Spreading The Word
GO-SEMI’s team is also tasked with making sure that businesses know what New York State has to offer as a national leader not only in semiconductor manufacturing, but also innovation. For example, in 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce designated the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub, which encompasses Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca, Auburn and Batavia, as the nation’s only end-to-end semiconductor industry Tech Hub.
GO-SEMI staff attend trade shows, meet with delegations, and conduct other activities to attract investment, including direct foreign investment, in New York. They attend the trade show SEMICON West, along with a large contingency of partners from all throughout the state. “We’re making sure that New York is at these events as a single group representing all the state has to offer,” Andreucci said.
Fulton County: Semiconductor Industry-Ready
The Fulton County Center for Regional Growth (FCCRG) is ahead of the curve when it comes to readiness to meet the needs of the semiconductor industry. Anticipating the needs of the supply chain businesses that will move into the county to take advantage of its key location in the center of New York’s Nanotechnology Triangle, Fulton County has made several sites shovel-ready, including properties for advanced manufacturing. In addition, the FCCRG has identified over a dozen other locations as its next targets for shovel-readiness. “We have our sites ready to go and can respond to any RFP in the semiconductor industry,” said Ron Peters, FCCRG’s President and CEO.
Prime Location And Resources
“Fulton County’s biggest asset is our prime location offering access to all upstate semiconductor facilities,” Peters said. The county is located right in the middle of the Nanotechnology Triangle near Micron’s semiconductor chip plant project north of Syracuse, Wolfspeed’s fab near Utica, GlobalFoundries’ expanding chip plant in Malta and NY CREATE’s state-of-the art research, development and commercialization facility at the Albany Nanotech Complex. The county is ideal for advanced materials manufacturing and processing as well as integrated circuit design businesses.
In addition, the county has excellent power capacity and an abundance of water—some 10 million gallons per day–available for any company that wants to locate in the county.
Fulton Montgomery Community College has a robust workforce development component to meet Fulton County employers’ needs for specially trained workers. The college partners with employers to create unique certificates, microcredentials and degree programs that provide the education and training required for rapid employment at specific companies.
When businesses are ready to take advantage of what Fulton County has to offer, the county is prepared, with the FCCRG paving the way—literally and figuratively. Visit fccrg.org to connect with an economic development specialist.
Ready to Build the Future in Fulton County?
This year’s Initiatives Guide is more than a report—it’s a launchpad. Whether you’re here to expand your enterprise or start something entirely new, Fulton County is ready to support your next big move.
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