Colorado Semiconductor Ecosystem

Colorado is among a handful of states that has a strong presence in this space. 

According to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the state ranks ninth in the nation for total semiconductor facilities: not bad for a state that ranks 21ST in total population. It hosts two major fabrication facilities – one each of Broadcom and Microchip – along with InnovaFlex Foundry, the only flat panel semiconductor foundry outside of Asia. Some of the largest IDMs and fabless companies in the world – Intel, Micron, AMD, NVIDIA, Analog Devices, Western Digital, Qualcomm, and Infineon – have substantial design and R&D centers there. In fact, the same SIA data shows that Colorado is fifth in concentration of design and R&D activities, making it a national hub for semiconductor innovation. Supply chain companies like Entegris, CoorsTek, Forge Nano, and others manufacture essential supplies, equipment, and materials in the state, while EDA providers Cadence and Synopsis develop integral design tools there.

This dense, diverse, and innovative local semiconductor value chain does not operate in isolation. 

On one side is a robust and collaborative R&D ecosystem that includes top-tier research universities and federally-funded labs. The University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines all have robust computer and electrical engineering programs and research infrastructure, such as the UCCS Microelectronics Research Laboratory. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Boulder Labs – just one of over 30 federally-funded labs in the state – has been at the forefront of many technological advancements, and will now lead the CHIPS Metrology R&D Program to further enable measurement as the industry pushes “More than Moore” to atomic limits.  

On the other is a cluster of high-tech industries pushing the requirements of performance that create the demand and will lead to further innovation in microelectronics. Colorado is a leading state for aerospace and defense, cleantech, telecommunications, software, bioscience, and others that rely on semiconductors as the enabling technology. Renowned companies like Lockheed Martin, Solid Power, Apple, Google, and Pfizer are developing in Colorado the next generation of space vehicles, batteries, wireless, AI, and pharmaceuticals that require advancement in semiconductor solutions for communication, power control, and computation, among many other applications.