Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has signaled he could withhold promised Chips Act grants as he pushes for companies in line for federal semiconductor subsidies to substantially expand their US projects, according to eight people familiar with the matter.

The Commerce chief wants firms that won awards from the 2022 Chips and Science Act to follow in the footsteps of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which recently announced it will invest another $100 billion in US plants on top of a previous $65 billion pledge, the people said. Lutnick’s goal is to generate tens of billions of dollars in additional semiconductor investment commitments without increasing the size of federal grants, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private conversations.