The European Union (EU) has approved an $8.7 billion round of funding into local microelectronics manufacturing within its member states. It is expected that this initial injection will unlock another $14.7 billion from private investors, bringing the total funding to over $22 million. The project chiefly hopes to speed up the development of a European supply chain for components for radar, space exploration and electric vehicles, as well as semiconductors to support the burgeoning demand for AI deployment. This will be spread across 68 different projects, pulling in 56 different companies, including many of the leading semiconductor manufacturers such as ASML, STMicroelectronics, Ericsson, GlobalFoundries, NXP, Infineon and Bosch. Leading transport companies such as Airbus, Continental Automotive and Renault are also involved. As…