Crain’s Detroit Business
March 28, 2023
Kurt Nagl
Semiconductor manufacturer AyDeeKay LLC, which does business as Indie Semiconductor, is looking to invest $12.5 million and create 180 jobs in Auburn Hills, where it envisions growth spurred by the automotive sector.
The Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based company (Nasdaq: INDI) would add to its 32,000-square-foot office in Auburn Hills, where it has 26 employees, and would eventually add another 15,000-square-foot office, according to a briefing memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
The MEDC is nearly matching the company’s investment with a $10 million performance-based grant, approved Tuesday, to land the jobs, which are expected to pay an average wage of $2,028 per week plus benefits.
“This project represents the first semiconductor firm to create and expand an integrated circuit design team in the state and a labor pipeline will need to be developed,” according to the MEDC.
Indie Semiconductor specializes in making edge sensors for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems including LiDAR, as well as products for connected car, user experience and electrification applications. The company plans to work with tier 1 and OEM companies as the industry undergoes an EV and tech transformation.
Michigan launched last year the Semiconductor Career and Apprenticeship Network Program in anticipation of economic development opportunities created by the federal CHIPS Act, which includes $52 billion for the semiconductor industry.
Still, Indie Semiconductor expects “difficulties attracting and retaining the workforce associated with the project in Michigan,” the memo said, because “more than 70 percent of the company’s workforce designing semiconductors is located outside the U.S.”
The company indicated incentives are necessary to offset the cost of recruiting and retaining talent. The incentives package works out to $55,555 per new job.
The state said Indie Semiconductor plans to partner with Michigan universities to build a pipeline of workers.