Initially, the cash will be spent to beef up its production over the next few years.

Polar's bread and butter is making semiconductors for stuff like renewable energy and electric cars. It plans to use this cash injection to double down on cranking out sensor and power chips and to upgrade its gear. It will hire 160 more people, too. The bigwigs at the US Department of Commerce reckon this move will pull in more dosh from private investors, turning Polar from a mostly foreign-run outfit into a red, white, and blue commercial foundry. That means more chances for American chip designers to get creative on their home turf.

Polar's under the wing of South Korea's SK Group and is the go-to factory and brain centre for Japan's Sanken Electric. While they are not from countries on the outs with the US, they are still across the pond. Gina Raimondo, the US Commerce boss, says slinging this money at Polar will attract even more private investment because giving money to companies rather than the riffraff is the American way.

The goal is to make Polar a proud, independent American foundry, boost its customer list, and secure a homegrown supply of those all-important chips.