Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR), the global photonics leader, today announced it has signed a letter of intent to receive up to $50 million in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act from the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand its world-leading 6-inch Indium Phosphide (InP) semiconductor manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas.

The investment will support growing demand for optical networking technologies that power AI datacenters and further strengthen Coherent's longstanding and recently expanded partnership with NVIDIA. At project completion, the Sherman site is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, including more than 550 direct advanced manufacturing, engineering, and technical roles. The expansion will double manufacturing production space and quadruple wafer production capacity, significantly increasing domestic production of critical AI-enabling technologies and reinforcing American leadership in the technologies that power the AI economy.

The CHIPS award builds upon approximately $20 million in support previously provided through the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund and the Sherman Economic Development Corporation.

The announcement coincides with a groundbreaking ceremony to be held later today with NVIDIA, federal and state officials, and local community leaders at Coherent's Sherman facility. Together, the proposed CHIPS investment, NVIDIA partnership, and Sherman expansion underscore the increasingly vital role of photonics innovation in enabling AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and American technology leadership.