India, June 24 -- Department of Commerce's CHIPS Research & Development Office has announced the signing of a definitive agreement with SandboxAQ for a $500 million award under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The award will accelerate the development and deployment of SandboxAQ's Al-driven materials discovery platform to address critical semiconductor materials bottlenecks and supply chain risks, including developing new molecules and chemistries for alternatives to PFAS "forever chemicals," advanced catalysts, rare earth-free magnets, and novel battery chemistries for semiconductor facility backup power systems.

SandboxAQ's platform is designed to compress traditional materials development timelines by combining first-principles physics and...