Now inviting industrial parks and manufacturers
ATP-Ready Sonora Ecosystem Accelerator
A program with Arizona State University and Tecnológico de Monterrey to align Sonora's talent, suppliers, infrastructure and public policy with what the semiconductor industry in Arizona needs.
Limited places remain for industrial parks and manufacturers in the Supply Chain and Infrastructure teams. The program runs January–April 2027.
November 20, 2026
Deadline to join
60 participants
15 per pillar: Workforce, Supply Chain, Infrastructure and Policy
6,000 USD per organization
Industrial parks and manufacturers · covers two participants. No cost for institutions.
6-week Master Class
by Arizona State University · January–March 2027
Study Tour to Arizona
Teams validate their work with industry · April 2027
Certification
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering · April 2027
Executive Working Groups
The work continues through 2027 and 2028
W H Y S O N O R A , W H Y N O W
Arizona is the fastest-growing semiconductor cluster in the United States. Its plants and their suppliers need equipment, materials, services and skilled people in the region. Sonora is a few hours away, and its automotive, aerospace and medical manufacturers already work with world-class quality, traceability and on-time delivery.
Complement Arizona. Start where Sonora is strong today.
$314B+
in semiconductor investment in Arizona since 2020
Source: Arizona Commerce Authority (July 2026)
Short term
Tier 3–4
Equipment, materials and plant services for the semiconductor industry in Arizona.
Medium term
Tier 2
Direct suppliers to fabrication and assembly plants.
Long term
ATP processes in Sonora
Assembly, test and packaging companies (OSATs) moving part of their processes to Sonora.
Assembly, test and packaging is the stage of the chain the United States is promoting in partner countries through the CHIPS Act. ATP-Ready Sonora aligns the ecosystem around practical capability building, not promotion alone.
H O W I T W O R K S
60 participants, four pillar teams, one shared roadmap
Participants are grouped by professional background, 15 per team. These are four of the seven pillars of the ATP-Ready Sonora strategy, activated through the Accelerator.
Workforce
Workforce, Talent & Academic Alignment
Technical talent pipelines, skills formation and faculty upskilling for ATP operations.
Supply Chain
Supply Chain Integration & Local Supplier Development
Supplier mapping, capability development and local manufacturing linkages.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Enablement
Site readiness, reliable utilities and semiconductor-grade operating conditions.
Policy
Policy Certainty, Workforce Mobility & Investor De-risking
Regulatory clarity, institutional coordination and investment facilitation.
60
participants from companies, universities, organizations and government
15
per pillar team
6 weeks
Semiconductor Ecosystem Master Class by ASU
8–10 h
per week, January to March 2027
A week in the Master Class
Monday · 90 min
Theory and technical sessions
Led by ASU faculty, live.
Wednesday · 90 min
Industry conversations
Industry leaders share real-world experience.
Every two weeks · In person
Working sessions at the Tec
Pillar teams advance their deliverables with Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Anytime · Online
Specialization content
ATP processes, design, packaging and assembly, plus the Arizona Case Study.
Industry White Paper
Industry-validated, actionable recommendations across the four pillars.
Certificate of Completion
From the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University.
W H Y A R I Z O N A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y
ASU connects participants with Arizona's semiconductor industry
TSMC · Intel · Amkor · Applied Materials · Deca
ASU works directly with the companies that lead the industry in Arizona.
$1B+
in annual research expenditures, placing ASU in the top 4% of U.S. research institutions.
One-of-a-kind fab
MacroTechnology Works gives ASU capabilities no other U.S. university offers. Companies lease space and tools there to take technologies from lab to fab, and it hosts the Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub.
~33,000
engineering students: the largest engineering school in the U.S. Working with Mexico on semiconductors since 2022.
Through ASU, participants work directly with the companies and specialists who define what Arizona's semiconductor industry needs.
Sources: Arizona State University; National Science Foundation, Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, FY2024.
T H E R O U T E
Seven steps, from selection to the work that continues
What happens at each step, when, and what participants do. Dates are approximate.
Executive AlignmentNEXT
A morning session at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Hermosillo. The heads of participating organizations meet with ASU and the Tec, align on the program's goals, commit their teams and authorize the people who will take part.
Participant selection
Each organization confirms its participants and signs a letter of authorization. The four pillar teams are formed: 60 participants, 15 per pillar.
Kickoff and Strategic Workshop
Two days in person. Participants meet their team, learn the ATP-Ready Sonora strategy and the deliverables they will produce, and agree on how they will work.
ASU Semiconductor Ecosystem Master Class
Six weeks of live 90-minute sessions: Mondays with ASU faculty, Wednesdays with industry leaders, plus online content and the Arizona Case Study. In parallel, biweekly in-person working sessions led by Tecnológico de Monterrey, where each team advances its deliverables.
Arizona Study Tour
Working sessions in Tempe, Arizona. Teams present their deliverables to Arizona specialists for direct feedback, meet companies and institutions, and take back lessons from Arizona's ecosystem. The program covers sessions, materials, local transportation and meals; travel and lodging are covered by each organization.
Certification
Teams present their final deliverables and the Industry White Paper to state authorities. Participants receive the Certificate of Completion from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
Executive Working Groups
Four public-private working groups (Mesas Ejecutivas), one per pillar, coordinated by the Nearshoring Center of Tecnológico de Monterrey. They complete the 12 remaining deliverables and turn the results into projects, investment and public policy.
W H A T I T P R O D U C E S
20 deliverables in two stages
Workforce
Stackable Credential Framework
Modular learning pathways aligned to ATP roles, across education levels in Sonora.
Faculty Development Needs Map
Teaching capacity gaps and priority upskilling needs.
ATP-Aligned Curriculum Action Plan
Ensures students learn the skills that global ATP jobs require, based on SEMI, IPC or industry standards.
Dual Education Roadmap
Bridges classroom and real ATP experience through internships and apprenticeships, accelerating job readiness.
Certification Alignment
Aligns Sonoran training with global ATP technician expectations and recommends certification pathways.
Supply Chain
Sonora ATP Supply Chain Map
Local supplier capabilities and gaps in Sonora's ATP-related ecosystem.
Supplier Directory
Suppliers by capability, for OSAT engagement and matchmaking.
Supplier Development Toolkit
Guidance, audit checklists and templates that help local firms meet what ATP buyers expect.
Readiness Self-Assessment Tool
Helps firms evaluate and improve their ATP readiness on their own, linked to buyer expectations.
Buyer–Supplier Engagement Format
Creates real connections and feedback between buyers and local firms, such as a Supplier Day.
Infrastructure
Site Prioritization & Readiness Toolkit
Ranks industrial sites using ATP readiness criteria.
ATP Lab Concept Brief
A shared ATP training and testing lab: layout, use cases, preliminary cost.
Cleanroom-Compatible Site Inventory
A shortlist of viable facilities for OSATs and training partners, with baseline specs and photos.
Green Park Vision
Positions Sonora as a low-carbon, resilient manufacturing hub, with solar and water reuse features.
Integration Plan
Prevents silos by aligning infrastructure investment with workforce and supplier needs: power, water and logistics.
Policy
Policy & Regulatory Gap Map
Unclear or missing regulations affecting ATP investment, against global expectations.
Draft One-Stop Permitting Concept
A streamlined permitting model across agencies.
De-risking Toolkit
Builds investor confidence with FAQs, real timelines and model clauses for land, energy and incentives.
Credential Recognition Pilot
Proposes a bilateral mechanism so qualified workers can move across the border into ATP jobs.
Policy Council or Task Force Proposal
Sustains public-private coordination beyond the Accelerator, with members, mandate and a draft charter.
A F T E R A P R I L 2 0 2 7
The program is the first stage. The work continues through 2027 and 2028.
The Accelerator
8 deliverables · Jan–Apr 2027
4 Executive Working Groups
12 more deliverables · one per pillar
Projects, investment and public policy
Who coordinates them
The Nearshoring Center of Tecnológico de Monterrey, with the private-sector leadership of ATP-Ready Sonora.
Who takes part
The same participants trained in the program, from across the state.
What they do
Complete the 12 remaining deliverables and turn results into projects.
How they are sustained
Contributions of participating organizations and other sources that join.
W H A T E A C H T E A M G E T S
Each team gets concrete results for its organization. Together, the four teams make Sonora more attractive to the industry: talent and clear rules help parks and suppliers win new business. The Workforce and Policy teams are complete. Places remain for industrial parks and manufacturers in Supply Chain and Infrastructure.
Benefits by pillar
Workforce team
Team completeUniversities and technical institutes
Programs aligned with what the industry hires
The Stackable Credential Framework defines learning paths by role, from operator to engineer.
Faculty up to date
The Faculty Development Needs Map identifies what professors must master to teach ATP.
Credentials the industry recognizes
Training is aligned with international industry standards such as SEMI and IPC.
Dual education with companies in the region
The Dual Education Roadmap links students with the parks and suppliers in the program.
Graduates the region's plants need
Parks and manufacturers gain a source of technicians trained for the profiles they hire.
A seat in the Workforce Executive Working Group
Follow up on curricula, certifications and dual education after the program.
Supply Chain team
Places openManufacturers and suppliers
A growing market close to home
Semiconductor plants in Arizona and their suppliers need equipment, materials and services from the region. Your automotive or aerospace experience is the starting point.
Training on what buyers require
ASU teaches what a semiconductor buyer expects from a supplier: certifications, traceability, cleanliness and audits.
A place in the Supplier Directory
Your company is listed by capability and readiness, and the directory is presented to industry buyers.
Tools to close the gaps
The Supplier Development Toolkit and the Readiness Self-Assessment Tool help you prepare for customer audits.
Contact with buyers
The Arizona Study Tour and the Buyer–Supplier Engagement Format put you in front of industry buyers.
A seat in the Supply Chain Executive Working Group
Keep developing Sonora's supplier base after the program.
Infrastructure team
Places openIndustrial parks and developers
A clear view of what to prioritize
The Site Prioritization & Readiness Toolkit uses the criteria an ATP company applies to choose a location, so you know what to invest in first.
Your buildings in front of investors
Buildings that can be adapted to clean processes enter the Cleanroom-Compatible Site Inventory presented to investors.
Visibility in Arizona
Assessed sites are part of the information shared with ASU, the City of Phoenix and industry during the Study Tour.
A possible host for the ATP Lab
The ATP Lab Concept Brief defines a shared training and testing space and identifies where it could be located.
A new kind of tenant
Suppliers that serve Arizona's semiconductor industry need sites nearby. The program shows what they look for, so your park is ready when they come.
A seat in the Infrastructure Executive Working Group
Follow up on the site inventory, the integration plan and the green park vision.
Policy team
Team completeGovernment agencies and organizations
Real permitting experience turned into proposals
The Policy & Regulatory Gap Map is built with those who process land use, environmental, IMMEX and foreign trade permits.
A say in the one-stop permitting model
The model to shorten permitting times is designed within the program, with those who use it.
Direct dialogue with industry
Agencies, regulatory improvement and customs work alongside parks, shelters and suppliers.
Faster start-ups
Every process that is streamlined shortens the time for a company to operate in a park or with a supplier.
Answers for foreign investors
The De-risking Toolkit documents real timelines and what an investor should expect.
A seat in the Policy Executive Working Group
Follow up on the de-risking toolkit, credential recognition and the policy council.
Shelters can join Supply Chain or Infrastructure. Every participant takes the ASU Master Class and receives the Certificate of Completion from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
H O W P A R T I C I P A T I O N W O R K S
Organizations join, and each one names who participates
Participation is by invitation and is not an open call for individuals. Companies, universities and institutions are invited to join a pillar, and each organization names the people from its team who will do the work.
No cost to participate
Universities, technical institutes, business organizations, clusters and government agencies
They take part in the program, the Master Class and the Executive Working Groups at no cost.
Contribution per organization
Industrial parks, shelters and manufacturers
6,000 USD per organization, covering two participants. See what it includes in the FAQ.
The participants
People who design, plan or operate inside each organization. They build the deliverables, take the Master Class, travel to Arizona and continue in the Executive Working Groups.
The head of each organization
Authorizes the participation, frees time for the work and attends the Executive Alignment and the certification.
8–10 h
per week, Jan–Mar 2027
English B2
live sessions and presentations in Arizona
F O R I N D U S T R I A L P A R K S A N D M A N U F A C T U R E R S
If you supply automotive or aerospace plants today, or develop industrial parks, you already work with much of what the semiconductor industry requires. The Accelerator shows you the rest, alongside ASU, Tecnológico de Monterrey and the industry in Arizona. Suppliers from medical, electronics, mining or food and beverage are also welcome. No semiconductor experience is required.
Built for automotive and aerospace. Ready for semiconductors.
Equipment
- Precision machining
- Tooling and fixtures
- Sheet metal, welding, assemblies
- Electronic boards and wiring
- Equipment maintenance
Materials
- Chemicals and gases
- Cleanroom consumables
- Anti-static materials
- Technical packaging
- Technical plastic injection
- Surface treatment
Plant services
- Cleanrooms
- Technical cleaning
- Air, water and energy
- Waste management
- Metrology and calibration
- Logistics and foreign trade
Signs of potential
- ISO 9001; IATF 16949, AS9100 or ISO 13485 a plus
- Tight tolerances, lot traceability
- Export or world-class customers
- Permits and safety in order
- Owner willing to invest and certify
- Staff who serve clients in English
How to participate
Each company names two participants and makes one contribution of 6,000 USD that covers both: the ASU Master Class, the working sessions at the Tec, the Study Tour sessions in Tempe, the certificate and a seat in an Executive Working Group. The contribution also supports the work that continues after April 2027.
Please confirm by November 20, 2026, ahead of the Executive Alignment on November 24.
Talk to us about participating →W H O I S I N V O LV E D
Backed by organizations from across Sonora
Program partners
Sponsors
Co-sponsors
Participating institutions
Education and training
- CECyTES
- CRESON
- ICATSON
- Instituto Tecnológico de Guaymas
- Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo
- Instituto Tecnológico de Nogales
- Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON)
- Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Cajeme (ITESCA)
- UCAN – Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas de Norteamérica
- Universidad de Sonora (UNISON)
- Universidad Estatal de Sonora (UES)
- Universidad Tecnológica de Hermosillo (UTH)
Government and public agencies
- Agencia Municipal de Cambio Climático
- Agua de Hermosillo
- AMDE Hermosillo
- CFE
- City of Phoenix
- CODESO
- Secretaría de Economía de Sonora
- Secretaría de Educación y Cultura de Sonora
Business and trade organizations
- CANACINTRA Hermosillo
- CANACINTRA Nogales
- Clúster Automotriz de Sonora
- COPRECO
- INDEX Nogales
- INDEX Sonora
H O W W E G O T H E R E
From a first visit in 2024 to a program ready to start
ATP-Ready Sonora did not start as a program. It started with a gap we saw between Sonora and Arizona. The Accelerator and the Executive Working Groups that follow are the first steps to close it.
01 · November 2024
A diagnosis reveals the gap
While working on the growth diagnostic of Hermosillo and Sonora with the Harvard team, a visit to ASU made the problem clear: Sonora's ecosystem was not aligned with, or engaged in, what Arizona's semiconductor industry actually needs to operate.
02 · May 2025
A task force is formed
We returned to Phoenix with Tecnológico de Monterrey to visit ASU's SWAP Hub, and decided to form a task force to align Sonora with what Arizona needs. We called it ATP-Ready Sonora.
03 · October 2025
Learning from ASU first
The task force took ASU's first Semiconductor Ecosystem Master Class and used it as the base for a version built for Sonora: one that shows what Arizona's operations really require and aligns Sonora's talent, infrastructure, supply chain and public policy around it.
04 · March 2026
Securing support for the program
The ATP-Ready Sonora team went in search of sponsors to make the program possible for Sonora's organizations.
05 · September 2026
The program goes public
The ATP-Ready Sonora Ecosystem Accelerator was officially announced in Hermosillo, and the selection of its first 60 participants began.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is the program open to the public?
No. It is by invitation: organizations are invited to join one of the four pillars, and each one names who participates. If you think your organization should take part, talk to us.
Is there a cost?
Universities, technical institutes, business organizations, clusters and government agencies participate at no cost. Industrial parks, shelters and manufacturers contribute 6,000 USD per organization, which covers two participants. Travel and lodging for the Arizona Study Tour are not included.
How much time does it take?
Approximately 8 to 10 hours per week from January to March 2027, plus a two-day kickoff and the Arizona Study Tour.
Is the program in English?
Yes. The Master Class sessions are live and in English, and teams present their deliverables to specialists in Arizona. Participants need upper-intermediate English (B2).
Do we need to work with semiconductors today?
No. Many suppliers come from automotive, aerospace, medical and other industries. What matters is quality, traceability and the willingness to prepare.
Who pays for travel to Arizona?
The program covers the working and training sessions in Tempe, including materials, local transportation and meals. Travel, lodging and personal expenses are covered by each organization.
What do participants receive?
A Certificate of Completion from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, authorship of the Industry White Paper with their team, and a seat in the Executive Working Group of their pillar.
Will there be another edition?
The work continues in the Executive Working Groups. Future editions have not been announced.
What is built now defines Sonora's place in this industry.
If you lead an industrial park, a shelter or a manufacturing company and want to be part of it, we would be glad to talk.