Syracuse landing a chip fab hinges on Defense contract

Sen. Charles Schumer is using some political muscle to try and land central New York a high-tech chip maker. But the deal is contingent on the company first getting a contract from a spending-conscious Defense Department.

Sen. Schumer sent a letter to the Pentagon urging it to sign a contract with chip-maker APIC Corp. of California.

If that happens, Schumer says APIC will create 200 jobs to make a next-generation chip at Electronics Park in Salina.

But landing such a contract may be tough since the Defense Department signaled it will reduce its budget by half a trillion dollars over the next decade.

CenterState CEO, which owns Electronics Park, may recognize the uncertainty too.

“We’re still in a preliminary stage with this issue and we traditionally, given the history in this region, like to make sure that a project is pretty far along,” before discussing details, says spokesman Kevin Schwab.
    
APIC’s chips use photons to improve output while drastically reducing energy use.

Sen. Schumer says he’ll be setting up meetings between APIC and the Department of Defense soon.