As the chip shortage continues to disrupt different sectors—perhaps most notably automotive—investors have flooded money into the design and processing of chips at a never-before-seen rate.

This rush to invest also comes at the same time more tech giants have unveiled plans to design their own chips—something that likely is not a coincidence.

While venture funding for U.S.-based companies connected to the semiconductor industry shattered its previous record back in April–after Palo Alto, California-based hardware and integrated systems developer SambaNova Systems closed a $676 million Series D at a $5 billion-plus valuation—global funding set new highs last month, according to Crunchbase data.

In August, total venture dollars poured into the sectors surpassed last year’s record of $3.4 billion. Semiconductor companies, which can run the gamut from chipmakers to design firms to hardware developers, now have raked in more than $3.7 billion in 85 deals to date this year.

To read the complete article, click here.