The U.S. Commerce Department on 25 August voided a 2025 agreement that would have given the nonprofit National Center for the Advancement of Semiconductor Technology, or Natcast, control over as much as $7.4 billion in federal semiconductor research funds. The money, authorised under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to support the National Semiconductor Technology Center, represented the largest single tranche of the law’s $11 billion research budget. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the previous administration’s arrangement was illegal, describing Natcast as an attempt to skirt the Government Corporation Control Act and calling the nonprofit a "semiconductor slush fund" staffed largely by former Biden officials. The department said the deal shielded the spending from meaningful federal oversight and therefore could not stand. Operational responsibility for the National Semiconductor Technology Center will instead shift to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, restoring direct government control. Commerce officials are reviewing whether any of the funds were already disbursed and indicated they may seek legal remedies to recover taxpayer money if necessary. Natcast did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Commerce Department emphasised that the decision will not affect separate CHIPS Act manufacturing incentives but could alter timelines for planned research facilities in Tempe, Arizona, and Albany, New York.