ALBANY-The last step in relocating global microchip consortiumInternational Sematech’s operations from Austin, TX has been taken.Gov. David Paterson said at a news conference Tuesday that theInternational Sematech Manufacturing Initiative would relocate itsheadquarters and operations to the Albany NanoTech Complexbeginning in January 2011. The move essentially repositions Albanyas the computer chip industry’s R&D hub, a role played byAustin for many years beginning in the late 1980s.

To accommodate IMSI, approximately 14,000 square feet ofexisting space will be renovated at the $6.5-billion AlbanyNanoTech Complex, part of SUNY Albany’s College of NanoscaleScience and Engineering and home to about 2,500 computer industryR&D workers. ISMI and CNSE will partner on developing advancedmanufacturing technologies crucial to the fabrication ofmulti-functional computer nanochips.

The move was spearheaded by $10 million in funding approved bythe New York State Assembly, which was matched by a $10-milliongrant from the Empire State Development Corp. ISMI and its privateindustry partners will provide an additional $80 million in capitaland operational funding, with the relocation expected to becompleted by January 2012.