I-Pulse Wins $250 Million CHIPS Award to Cut US Reliance on Foreign Chips

The United States Department of Commerce signed a definitive agreement on June 25, 2026 to award I-Pulse Inc. up to $250 million through its CHIPS Research and Development Program. The deal funds the development of high-temperature silicon-carbide semiconductors and pulsed-power components, and it marks another move in Washington's push to rebuild domestic chip capacity and reduce its exposure to foreign-made semiconductors.

I-Pulse is a privately held US company co-founded in 2007 by mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland and Laurent Frescaline. The work backed by the award will be carried out at the company's Albuquerque facility in New Mexico, led by Dr. Rick Spielman and Dr. Randy Curry. The site sits next to Sandia National Laboratories and the US Air Force Research Laboratory, two institutions that have turned Albuquerque into a hub for pulsed-power research. The company also runs laboratories in France and keeps offices in New York and London.

The funded program centers on silicon-carbide semiconductors, a material that holds up far better than standard silicon under high heat and high voltage. I-Pulse plans to develop high-power, high-frequency switches and advanced packaging built to survive harsh shocks and extreme temperatures. According to the Commerce Department, these components are engineered to let critical industries operate in environments that would destroy conventional electronics. The same switching technology underpins the company's pulsed-power systems, which compress a small amount of electrical energy and release it in bursts that last less than ten millionths of a second.

For supply chain watchers, the relevance lies in the strategic dependency the award is meant to ease. The United States still relies heavily on chips produced abroad, and high-performance power semiconductors are a thin and concentrated part of that market. By funding domestic research and a local manufacturing path, the CHIPS program aims to widen the pool of American-made components and lower the risk of a single point of failure feeding into defense, energy and industrial systems. The government has paired this approach with other moves, including a passive stake in Intel Corp. that ties federal money more closely to domestic chip output.

The technology has uses well beyond chip making. I-Pulse applies its pulsed-power switches to a geothermal drilling method that sends surges of electricity into hot granite, fracturing and softening the rock ahead of the drill bit. The company says the same approach can speed up drilling while extending drill-bit life in very hard rock. Other applications span underground mining, rock crushing, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and defense systems. Friedland has described the technology as able to cut the energy needed to break rock and free up critical minerals by a large margin.

The award also fits a wider pattern around Friedland, a billionaire mining figure known for founding Ivanhoe Mines. One of his companies, Ivanhoe Electric Inc., has been working with the US Export-Import Bank on a financing package for an Arizona copper project, and Friedland took part in the unveiling of a critical minerals stockpiling venture at the White House in February 2026. I-Pulse itself has drawn equity from major miners such as Rio Tinto, Newmont, Teck Resources and BHP, along with Chile's state copper producer Codelco, which paid about $50 million for a stake in October 2025.

The program is now in its early stage. The agreement has been signed and the funding is set to flow into research and development at I-Pulse Albuquerque, which the company calls the largest concentration of pulsed-power experts at any American firm. Commercial output of the new silicon-carbide components is expected to follow over the coming years rather than immediately. The CHIPS goals tied to the award include further American semiconductor research, stronger domestic production, a trained local workforce and finished products that reach the market.

The situation remains active. No production line for the new chips is running yet, and the broader US dependency on foreign semiconductors is far from solved by a single award. Still, the deal adds a domestic source for a narrow class of power components that matter to energy security and national defense, and it deepens the link between a fast-growing pulsed-power venture and federal supply chain policy.