US, Mexico leaders convene at ASU to boost semiconductor partnership
Jim O'Brien, senior vice president for university affairs and chief of staff in the Office of University Affairs at ASU, addresses public- and private-sector leaders at the the U.S.-Mexico Semiconductor Collaboration Forum held at the Thunderbird School of Global Management on ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus Tuesday. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
Public- and private-sector leaders from the U.S. and Mexico gathered at Arizona State University on Tuesday to strengthen the surging semiconductor industry that spans both nations.
The daylong workshop addressed the semiconductor ecosystem, including investment, workforce development and supply chain resilience.
The event, titled “The U.S.-Mexico Semiconductor Collaboration Forum: Advancing Subnational Priorities and Strengthening Bilateral Collaboration,” was sponsored by the Business Council for International Understanding, along with several partners, including ASU, Intel and the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, who addressed the gathering via video, said: “Arizona has become North America's No. 1 destination for semiconductor investment and innovation, from manufacturing to (research and development) to advanced packaging and more.
“Arizona is leading the charge to reshore this critical industry. We aren't doing it alone. Arizona's success is the result of unprecedented collaboration among industry, academia, government and others.”
Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Commission, said that Arizona's close relationship with Mexico is fueling semiconductor growth in both countries.
“Arizona's companies exported more than $9 billion worth of goods to Mexico in 2024, making Mexico by far our largest export market,” she said.
“Semiconductors account for nearly a billion of this total, making Arizona the largest exporter of semiconductor goods to Mexico.”
As global supply chains have shifted since the pandemic, that relationship is more important than ever, Watson said.
“Arizona's integrated supply chain with Mexico is one of our strongest selling points. By working together, we can further secure the supply chain to grow our economy and create more opportunities on both sides of this border,” she said.
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Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, told the gathering that Arizona's close relationship with Mexico is fueling semiconductor growth in both countries.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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Jim O'Brien (right), senior vice president for university affairs and chief of staff in the Office of University Affairs at ASU, chats with Alfredo Pacheco, executive vice president and CEO of the Mexican Chamber of the Electronic, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Industries, or CANIETI, one of the event sponsors.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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The U.S.-Mexico Semiconductor Collaboration Forum, which gathered leaders from both countries, was held at the Thunderbird School of Global Management on ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
Alfredo Pacheco, executive vice president and CEO of the Mexican Chamber of the Electronic, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Industries, or CANIETI, one of the event sponsors, said that 25 of Mexico’s 32 states are involved in the semiconductor industry.
“By working together, Mexico and the U.S. have forged an integrated, resilient supply chain that has enhanced competitiveness, and of course has enhanced a shared prosperity.
“We are allies; we are families. We complement each other. We don't compete with each other. And we sure won't let anything stand in the way of affirming that we represent the most important economic region in the world, and we feel very proud of that.”
Jim O’Brien, senior vice president for university affairs and chief of staff in the Office of University Affairs at ASU, told the group that universities are crucial partners of industry.
“You cannot underestimate their power and their influence, and that's because at the end, universities are about the talent they produce. They're about their students and the ideas of their faculty,” he said.
“Innovation is at the heart of what we do, and it's the heart at the heart of building this economy together. We’ll have to do some things differently, have to invent new ways; there will have to be new technologies. So this assembly of people will help us identify ways to do things differently and ways to move forward.”
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