Right, it's less directly subsidizing companies who then use the advantages gained through those subsidies to build factories and products at a comparatively reduced cost.
It's subsidy with extra steps.
Nonetheless, research can be just as pricey. This is a subsidy.
Not in the same sense, because none of it might pan out. It’s literally research grants, which might be called a subsidy because it’s for the common good, but it’s not about building expensive industries at a cheaper private cost. This is $1.5B. That’s nothing compared to what it costs to build a semi-conductor industry.