Silicon Labs has opened a new research and development center in Austin, Texas, dedicated to the design, testing, and validation of advanced semiconductors for wireless Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The Austin Innovation Center is backed by a $23 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF), one of the instruments the state created to grow its chip industry.
Silicon Labs’ new lab in 30 seconds
- Silicon Labs is expanding its wireless semiconductor research, testing, and validation capacity in Austin.
- The project receives a $23 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund.
- The new equipment will support more advanced process technologies and speed up testing of new chips.
- The lab will support the Series 3 wireless platform for IoT.
- Texas has allocated roughly $948 million to the TSIF since it was created in 2023.
The project stands out from the massive fab investments that have been grabbing most of the industry’s attention. Silicon Labs is a fabless company: it designs semiconductors but relies on external manufacturers to produce them. So the $23 million in public support isn’t going toward building a new wafer fab — it’s reinforcing the engineering stages that happen before a design is sent to production.
The opening also shows that U.S. policy to strengthen the semiconductor industry isn’t limited to large fabs. Texas is funding manufacturing, research, and design through its own state program, complementing investments taking place elsewhere in the country. Unlike chipmakers pouring billions into new fabrication plants — such as GlobalFoundries’ plan to expand its Dresden factory — Silicon Labs keeps its own investment focused on the design and validation stage instead.
A lab to develop the next generation of wireless chips
The new Austin Innovation Center will let Silicon Labs engineers work with updated equipment for more advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies.
The company expects to use the facility to design, test, and validate new generations of integrated circuits aimed mainly at connected devices.
One of the platforms the lab will work with is Series 3, Silicon Labs’ current architecture for wireless connectivity.
These chips target very different markets, from connected home devices to industrial automation, commercial buildings, healthcare, and smart-city infrastructure.
| Area | Role of the Austin Innovation Center |
|---|---|
| Design | Development of new wireless semiconductors |
| Validation | Verifying that designs work as intended |
| Testing | Evaluating chips and new technologies |
| Process | Working with more advanced manufacturing nodes |
| IoT | Developing the Series 3 platform and future generations |
| AI | Built-in capabilities for connected devices |
Silicon Labs says its goal is to cut the time it takes to move a semiconductor through the different stages between initial design and a market-ready product.
The new equipment will also enable more sophisticated testing and make it easier for different engineering disciplines to work together.
That capability is becoming increasingly necessary in the Internet of Things. Connected devices are packing in more local processing, security mechanisms, and AI-related features, all while still facing tight power-consumption constraints.
An industrial sensor, a connected lock, or a battery-powered medical device has very different requirements than a processor used in a server. Energy efficiency and wireless communications remain central to the design.
Silicon Labs’ business is built precisely around this market. Its portfolio includes technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, Thread, Zigbee, Matter, Wi-SUN, and other wireless solutions used in IoT devices.
Texas has put about $948 million into its chip fund
The Austin investment is part of a much larger state initiative.
The Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund was created in June 2023, when Governor Greg Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act, House Bill 5174.
Texas lawmakers initially allocated $698 million to the new fund. In June 2025, another $250 million was added, bringing total allocations to roughly $948 million, according to official information from the Texas government.
The program can award grants and matching funds for projects related to semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing.
It isn’t aimed exclusively at private companies. State agencies and higher-education institutions running eligible projects can also apply.
| Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund | Figures |
|---|---|
| Created | June 2023 |
| Initial funding | $698 million |
| 2025 expansion | $250 million |
| Total allocations | Approx. $948 million |
| Grant to Silicon Labs | $23 million |
| Areas covered | Research, design, and manufacturing |
For private companies, Texas requires an established presence in the state and a project that includes capital investment and job creation, alongside a contribution to the local semiconductor industry.
The state also weighs local community support for the projects it funds.
The program aims to maintain Texas’s position within an industry that already has a considerable footprint in the state. Austin and other parts of Texas are home to design, manufacturing, and development activities from some of the world’s leading chip companies.
The grant awarded to Silicon Labs reflects another link in that chain: the research and design work that comes before a semiconductor’s physical manufacturing.
An investment in design, not a new chip fab
The distinction matters when assessing the scale of the project.
The $23 million is a TSIF grant supporting the new lab and upgrading its capabilities, not the announcement of a semiconductor fab worth that amount.
An advanced manufacturing plant requires investments of several billion dollars and an entirely different industrial infrastructure.
Silicon Labs uses a fabless model. The company develops the architecture and design of its integrated circuits, carries out engineering and validation work, and then uses external partners to physically manufacture the chips.
This model lets it concentrate investment on intellectual property, engineering, software, and product development without directly taking on the enormous cost of running a wafer fab.
The Austin Innovation Center fits that structure.
Matt Johnson, president and CEO of Silicon Labs, says the center expands the company’s capacity to develop new generations of wireless technology and is part of its ongoing collaboration with Texas to strengthen semiconductor research, design, and development.
For the state, supporting facilities like this covers a different part of the chain than incentives aimed purely at manufacturing.
International competition over semiconductors has pushed the United States and various state governments to try to attract not just new fabs, but also engineering centers, suppliers, university research, and specialized talent.
Texas has chosen to also have its own financial instrument for that industrial policy.
The opening of the Silicon Labs lab shows how part of that funding is starting to turn into concrete infrastructure. In this case, it won’t directly increase the number of wafers manufactured in the United States, but it will increase the capacity to design and validate new wireless chips there before they move into production.
For Silicon Labs, this infrastructure also arrives at a moment when IoT devices are progressively taking on more security and local-processing features. That shift requires packing more capability into chips that, in many cases, still need to run for years on very tight power budgets.
The Austin Innovation Center will focus precisely on that earlier engineering stage, where much of the performance, security, connectivity, and energy efficiency of the finished semiconductor gets decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has Silicon Labs opened in Austin?
Silicon Labs has opened the Austin Innovation Center, a research and development lab dedicated to designing, testing, and validating semiconductors for wireless connectivity and IoT.
How much has Texas invested in Silicon Labs’ lab?
The project received a $23 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund. That figure is the public support announced, not the total cost of a new chip fab.
Does Silicon Labs manufacture its own semiconductors?
Silicon Labs operates as a fabless company. It designs and develops its chips, while physical manufacturing is handled by external partners.
How much money does the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund have?
Texas initially allocated $698 million to the program in 2023 and added another $250 million in 2025. Total allocations now stand at roughly $948 million.
Source: gov.texas.gov