JVIC opens $4M funding round in semiconductor initiative

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Chip Investments: JVIC awaits more funding for semiconductor initiative

The Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center at Missouri State University has opened a third round of funding through an ongoing initiative designed to shore up the state's semiconductor industry.

JVIC announced in a news release this week that its Advanced Manufacturing Node would accept funding proposals until Oct. 22. JVIC in 2022 was approved by NextFlex, a member of Manufacturing USA innovation institutes, as the Missouri node of a program designed to increase the volume, pace and coordination of the development of flexible hybrid electronics and other semiconductor technologies. 

“These projects not only advance technology but also create the jobs and opportunities that will shape the future of our state’s economy,” said Allen Kunkel, associate vice president for economic development and director of JVIC at MSU, in the release.

Kunkel said via email that $4 million would be available for subawards in the third round. He said MSU was awarded $5.4 million by the Missouri General Assembly and approved in Gov. Mike Kehoe's fiscal 2026 budget this summer.

In the second funding round, $4 million was budgeted for subawards, with $1.4 million approved by the Missouri Department of Economic Development to support investments in semiconductor capacity at JVIC, according to past reporting. 

Past funding recipients include Rolla-based Brewer Science Inc. and Springfield-based SRC Technologies Group Inc.