Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has pulled funding from a massive semiconductor chip research effort, leaving hundreds without jobs and billions in promised investments hanging in the balance. The organization at the center of the controversy, Natcast, had secured contracts worth $7.4 billion to establish America’s National Semiconductor Technology Center. More than 200 major companies including Nvidia, Intel, Apple, Samsung, Google and AMD had joined the initiative aimed at keeping the United States ahead in the global chip technology race.