The Department of Commerce has appointed Bill Frauenhofer director of the agency’s CHIPS Program Office.
The office was created by the CHIPS and Science Act approved by Congress in 2022 that made $52 billion available to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor sector.
An executive order issued by the White House in March has wrapped the CHIPS Program Office into the newly created United States Investment Accelerator that will have the mission of smoothing the way for foreign and domestic business investments exceeding $1 billion.
The Commerce Department said in announcing Frauenhofer’s appointment on July 28 that he “will assume leadership over the implementation of $39 billion in semiconductor manufacturing incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act.”
The agency also said the new director will advance the program office “into a new era as it delivers much better deals than the previous administration for the U.S. taxpayer.”
Frauenhofer is coming to government service after a 29-year career in investment banking focused on the technology and semiconductor sectors. Most recently he was global head of semiconductor investment banking and head of west coast technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley.
“It is a truly exciting opportunity to join the Commerce Department and lead the CHIPS program into its next chapter,” Frauenhofer said, adding, “I believe in this administration’s mission to rebuild a robust domestic semiconductor ecosystem and reshore American semiconductor manufacturing and jobs.”
“Semiconductors are fundamental to advancing our AI capabilities,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “Bill Frauenhofer’s leadership will revitalize semiconductor manufacturing in America and deliver on this administration’s commitment to winning the AI race,” he said.