UCLA to Host $125 Million Semiconductor Research Hub with Five Companies

Broadcom, Meta, Applied Materials, GlobalFoundries and Synopsys will establish a $125 million Semiconductor Hub at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. The partnership will support research in chip design, manufacturing equipment, software and related technologies. It will also fund year-long internships for engineering doctoral students at the five companies.

The five-year project begins at the UCLA Samueli campus.

Faculty and student researchers will collaborate with the companies to shorten the time between laboratory results and market-ready products. Ah-Hyung "Alissa" Park, dean of engineering at UCLA Samueli, said the hub will address questions about the future shape of the semiconductor industry that industry alone has been slow to examine.

"Nobody — including industry — know[s] what a semiconductor industry [is] going to look like in 10 years," Park said.

Meta is scheduled to begin cutting 8,000 positions this week.

Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said the hub will help bring technology breakthroughs to market faster and develop engineering talent in the United States. Park added that industry mentorship alongside faculty guidance will improve career paths for participating students.