Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced plans to organize at least two different semiconductor hubs to help the United States using subsidies from the major chip and science funding bill passed last year in an effort to succeed in innovation and compete with China.

Raimondo announced the hub plans on Thursday during an appearance at Georgetown University discussing the Commerce Department's plans for the CHIPS Act, a bill passed in July 2022 that will provide tens of billions of dollars in funding to chip manufacturers.

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Raimondo compared the scale of the effort to the space race in the 1960s or the Manhattan Project.

"The CHIPS and Science Act presents us with an opportunity to make investments that are similarly consequential for our nation's future," Raimondo said.

Each hub will include a "robust supplier ecosystem, R&D facilities to innovate new process technologies continuously, and specialized infrastructure" and add thousands of jobs to the local economy.

Raimondo did not state specifically where these hubs would be constructed.

The commerce secretary also announced that applications to receive CHIPS Act funding for semiconductors would open next week.

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The Biden administration has collaborated with state governments and manufacturers such as Intel and TSMC to construct new chip fabricator plants in the U.S. The Commerce Department has also passed several export controls to limit Chinese access to U.S. chips, a motion China is attempting to challenge in the World Trade Organization.

At the same time, China has cut back on its government funding for improved domestic chip production.