Apple has awarded an additional $410 million USD from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund.
The Silicon Valley giant announced in a press release a new $410 million USD award from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund for II-VI, a maker of optical technology, building on the initial $390 million from the fund in 2017.
The expansion will “create additional capacity and accelerate delivery of future components for iPhone,” with 700 jobs in Sherman, TX, Warren, N.J., Easton, Penn., and Champaign, Ill., the company said in the statement. That will include new jobs in North Texas, a spokesperson said, without giving specifics.
Apple began working with II-VI in Sherman in 2017 as part of the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund. That helped rehabilitate a long-shuttered, 700,000-square-foot building, turning into a high-tech manufacturing facility that created hundreds of local jobs.
“We established Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund to support American businesses creating next-generation technology and the jobs of tomorrow,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “II-VI shares our commitment to push the boundaries of innovation and we’re proud to be extending our work together across the country.”
II-VI manufactures vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that help power Face ID, along with lasers for the LiDAR Scanner:
II-VI manufactures vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that help power Face ID, Memoji, Animoji, and Portrait mode selfies. Apple also works with II-VI to manufacture lasers used in the LiDAR Scanner — technology that helps deliver faster, more realistic augmented reality experiences and improves autofocus in low-light scenes in photos and videos.
“The partnership between Apple and II-VI sets the stage for a new wave of breakthrough technologies that we believe will enable a wide range of applications that will benefit our world for decades to come,” said Dr. Vincent Mattera Jr., II-VI’s CEO. “We are incredibly grateful for Apple’s support which has allowed us to expand our manufacturing capacity and scale our operations across the US.”
Read the press release here.
