SandboxAQ Wins $500 Million US Grant to Develop New Semiconductor Materials With AI

SandboxAQ, spun out of Alphabet in 2022, combines AI, physics simulations and quantum technologies to accelerate chemical and materials research. Semiconductor manufacturing relies on PFAS, rare-earth magnetic materials and battery materials. Prolonged US dependence on foreign supplies could affect chip production capacity, supply-chain resilience and national security, making domestically developed alternatives a research priority under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The US Commerce Department’s CHIPS Research and Development Office signed a final agreement with SandboxAQ on June 17, 2026, awarding the company $500 million. The funding will support four areas: PFAS-free process chemicals, advanced catalysts, permanent magnets that do not rely on foreign rare earths, and next-generation battery systems. SandboxAQ says its AI platform will screen candidate materials using 13.5 million high-accuracy quantum chemistry calculations, at speeds up to 20,000 times faster than conventional methods.