UCLA Launches $125M Semiconductor Hub with Tech Giants for AI Chip Innovation

Broadcom , Meta , Applied Materials , GlobalFoundries and Synopsys are joining forces to launch a $125 million "Semiconductor Hub" at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.

The new partnership will aim to speed up research and workforce development for AI-powered chip technologies, and support innovations across chip design, equipment, software, manufacturing and other parts of the chips ecosystem, according to a UCLA press release.

Based at the UCLA Samueli campus, the research hub will start with a five-year commitment. Faculty and student researchers will work with the founding companies to help shorten the timeline for new chip innovations to reach a rapidly-changing market, Ah-Hyung "Alissa" Park, dean of engineering at UCLA Samueli, told CNBC.

"Nobody — including industry — know[s] what a semiconductor industry [is] going to look like in 10 years," Park said. "But can we continue to ask [the] most challenging, difficult questions, and high-risk, high-return kind of questions? That's what we are hoping to do, because this conversation is happening [in a] very sluggish way."

The funding also includes yearlong internships with those same partners for the hub's engineering doctoral students.

The start of UCLA's hub comes as AI continues to disrupt the job market and companies across tech and other sectors lay off thousands of people. Meta, one of the partners for the project, is scheduled to start its own round of job cuts this week, slashing 8,000 positions, or about 10% of its head count.

"Strengthening the ties between industry and academia is more important than ever as semiconductor complexity increases and the pace of AI development accelerates," Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said in a statement. "We look forward to working closely with the Semiconductor Hub partners to bring technology breakthroughs to market faster while inspiring the next generation of engineering talent in the U.S."

Park said the hub's internship involvement will lead to a "much better career path" for the students who will benefit.

"I think understanding how you evolve and grow as an independent researcher and engineer — that's important," Park said. "So, having a mentorship from not only faculty members but also industry, I think it will really enrich their growth."