Nvidia's Huang pledges AI will boost manufacturing jobs. A test will come in Texas - The Journal Gazette

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has pledged that artificial intelligence (AI) will be a catalyst for reviving U.S. manufacturing, with a major test case unfolding in Sherman, Texas. The facility, a joint vent... Read original →

Huang’s bet on AI-driven manufacturing reshoring is less about jobs and more about vertically integrating the AI stack. The Sherman facility’s focus on indium phosphide for chip-to-chip optical interconnects will force tighter co-evolution among EUV, 3nm packaging, and silicon photonics—creating a closed-loop AI infrastructure. Bipartisan U.S. support masks real risks: CHIPS Act delays, power shortages, and talent gaps could inflate operational costs by over 30%. TSMC (Taiwan, China) and Intel’s Arizona expansions are already straining; NVIDIA’s move pressures AMD and Broadcom to lock in domestic photonic supply chains. Within 18 months, ‘regional AI foundries’ will emerge as a new norm—but without breakthroughs in energy-per-watt efficiency and water usage, local environmental pushback in Texas may undermine the entire onshoring narrative.