- SandboxAQ has received a $500 million CHIPS award from the Commerce Department
- Under the definitive agreement, SandboxAQ will advance U.S. semiconductor material supply chains
- The company will support the development of PFAS-free chemicals, rare earth-free magnets, catalysts and battery technologies
SandboxAQ has secured a $500 million award from the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office to support efforts aimed at strengthening domestic access to critical materials used in semiconductor manufacturing.
How Will SandboxAQ Use the CHIPS Award?
The Palo Alto, California-based company said Wednesday the funding will support the development and validation of new molecules and formulations across four areas critical to semiconductor production, including process chemicals free of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, catalysts, rare earth-free magnets and battery systems.
SandboxAQ will work to transition successful technologies into manufacturing and commercialization through partnerships with U.S. industrial companies.
The company will conduct research and development focused on enhancing production capabilities in sectors where foreign suppliers have historically dominated supply chains, while supporting U.S. economic and national security objectives.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the initiative aligns with the administration’s efforts to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled materials.
How Will SandboxAQ Use AI Models?
The company will expand its ReAQT simulation platform and artificial intelligence-driven large quantitative models, or LQMs, which are trained on physics, biology and chemistry rather than human language. These systems allow rapid screening of millions of candidate materials, compressing timelines that traditionally took decades of laboratory trial and error.
SandboxAQ CEO Jack Hidary said the company’s AI-driven approach will help accelerate the development of critical materials and support domestic semiconductor production.
The award builds on SandboxAQ’s growing portfolio of federal work. In 2025, the company secured a Department of War CIO contract supporting post-quantum cryptography and joined the Defense Innovation Unit’s quantum sensing program to advance GPS-independent navigation technologies. It also completed an AI-powered battery analytics project with the U.S. Army.
