The UK government has announced an investment of up to $1.25 billion in the domestic semiconductor industry, but has been criticised for declining to join the spending race that has seen the US and EU announce significantly bigger programmes. From a report: Labour accused the government of lacking ambition in its announcement, while one UK startup said the 1bn pound figure was less than the cost of one basic semiconductor plant. The U’s long-awaited national semiconductor strategy would focus on the country’s existing strengths in the technology. Semiconductors, or microchips, are the “brains” of electronic devices, formed by wafers of silicon that are key to most forms of modern technology, from cars, smartphones and kitchen devices to power stations. Under the strategy, the planned decade-long investment would be targeted at areas such as design, research and development. “Semiconductors underpin the devices we use every day and will be crucial to advancing the technologies of tomorrow,” said the prime minister, Rishi Sunak. “Our new strategy focuses our efforts on where our strengths lie, in areas like research and design, so we can build our competitive edge on the global stage.”

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