The Biden administration announced Monday it has awarded $6.7 million to Rogue Valley Microdevices, a Medford electronics manufacturer, to help finance a small factory in Florida.

The money comes from the $52 billion CHIPS Act, which Congress passed in 2022 to boost the domestic semiconductor industry. Intel won $8.5 billion in subsidies from the same pool of funds earlier this year, partly to expand its Hillsboro operations, and many other Oregon chip manufacturers are pursuing awards to boost their local production, too.

Rogue Valley Microdevices is led by Jessica Gomez, who sought the Republican nomination for Oregon governor in 2022. The privately held company plays a niche role in the electronics industry, with its existing factory in Medford serving as a contract manufacturer for packages of small electronics devices known as MEMS.

“We plan to use this capital infusion to increase production of the miniature, intelligent sensors that are critical to markets for which a robust supply chain is essential, including automotive, biomedical, and industrial,” Gomez said in a statement Monday.

Rogue Valley employs 25 in Medford. The company announced plans to expand to Palm Bay, Florida, a year ago. The Oregon company acquired a 50,000-square-foot building there to employ 75 making devices for a more advanced category of semiconductor manufacturing.

“We selected Florida for its affordability, technical workforce, and business friendly economic environment,” Gomez write in a text message Monday. She said Rogue Valley will modernize its Medford site once its Palm Bay site is operating.

The Florida factory is due to open early next year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Florida provided another $8.2 million in incentives for the project.

-- Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy. Reach him at mrogoway@oregonian.com.

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