The U.S. government is investing $500 million in an artificial intelligence startup as part of an effort to reduce reliance on imported materials critical to semiconductor manufacturing. The Department of Commerce announced on June 17 that it has signed a definitive agreement awarding the money to SandboxAQ, a California-based company spun out of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, as an independent firm in 2022. According to the department, the award will accelerate the development and deployment of SandboxAQ’s AI-driven materials discovery platform, which is designed to address bottlenecks in the semiconductor supply chain by identifying alternatives to scarce or foreign-controlled materials. Backed by Nvidia, SandboxAQ will focus on four areas where U.S. semiconductor manufacturing remains dependent on overseas supply chains: alternatives to PFAS “forever chemicals,” advanced catalysts, rare-earth-free magnets, and new battery chemistries for semiconductor facility backup power systems....