A microelectronics manufacturer is considering a $229.2 million investment in Fort Worth to build a headquarters and prototyping lab that could employ as many as 267. 

Fort Worth city staff outlined  an economic development proposal  that would provide Adom Industries $15 million in grants in exchange for development and expansion of an electronics prototyping lab, electronics workbench and semiconductor fabrication for cloud-based clients.

Clients would include major names in the electronics and semiconductor industry, Michael Hennig, economic development manager for the city of Fort Worth, told council members during an Aug. 5 meeting. 

The project is expected to eventually deliver 267 jobs with an average salary of $91,000 and spend $243.7 million in research and development expenditures over 15 years. Adom officials plan to expand over four phases from 2027 to 2033, according to the presentation. 

“We believe that this project will become one of most significant semiconductor-related projects to date, and that’s right alongside Wistron, which council approved back in June,” said Kelly Baggett, an economic development coordinator for the city.  

On June 24, the council approved a tax abatement agreement for Taiwanese artificial intelligence chip manufacturer Wistron, which is considering building two plants valued at $687 million that could add 888 jobs if the company develops in the city.

According to Adom Industries’ website, the company is building the world’s first AI-native cloud factory — which develops AI solutions using cloud platforms for prototyping and testing electronics remotely — allowing Adom to help companies develop new products faster and keep much of the development in the United States instead of overseas. 

Fort Worth economic development officials said one attractive feature of the project is the high levels of research and development used throughout the company’s operations. Research and development has been identified as lacking in Fort Worth business growth despite the contributions of major companies such as Lockheed, Alcon, Bell, Elbit and others, according to the presentation. 

Research and development-oriented companies tend to be a magnet for high-skill, specialized talent supporting high-wage jobs and are more likely to produce spin-off companies, according to the presentation from economic development officials.

“Fort Worth just really has not produced the level of R&D activity that you expect for a city of our size,” Hennig said. “That’s been really one of the key priorities within our economic strategic plan to try and recruit more of that activity here at Fort Worth.” 

Hennig said such activity translates into a broader economic impact and helps in recruiting high-quality talent. 

Adom Industries also is seeking $20 million in support from the Texas Semiconductor Investment Fund and $10 million from the National Science Foundation for the project, but the company’s plans are not contingent on that funding, according to the city’s report. 

Adom Industries founder John Lauer previously started several other companies, including Zipwhip, a business texting platform, and Simplewire, a text messaging short-code aggregation company. Zipwhip sold for $952 million in July 2021. Lauer also founded ChiliPeppr, an open-source CNC machine operating system. 

The company’s website has job listings posted for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including for  electrical engineers, software engineers and robotics engineers. 

The economic development staff recommends that the city enter into a 15-year economic development agreement providing up to 15 grants.  The City Council will consider the agreement at its Aug. 12 meeting. 

Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.

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