Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries Sign Pact to Expand U.S. Chip Manufacturing through 2028
SAN DIEGO, CA – Following the recent passage of the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, GlobalFoundries (GF), a world leader in high-performance semiconductor manufacturing, and San Diego-based Qualcomm Technologies have announced that they will double their long-term wafer manufacturing agreement.
The intent of the expanded agreement is to secure the supply of electronic tablets and support U.S. manufacturing by expanding the capacity of the company’s state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication facility.
The announcement was made in Washington, D.C., during a CEO Summit co-hosted by GF, Ford Motor Company and Applied Materials and attended by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainability William LaPlante and National Security Council Senior Director for Technology and Homeland Security Tarun Chhabra.
Qualcomm Technologies, said GF has been manufacturing the high-performance chips for the California company for many years. In 2021, Qualcomm Global Trading (QGT), a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, was one of GF’s first customers to secure its supply with a long-term agreement spanning multiple geographies and technologies. That agreement secured 22FDX capacity at GF’s Dresden facility and will now include capacity at GF’s recently announced Crolles (France) facility, making QGT a major customer for GF’s proprietary technology in Europe.
QGT has also secured capacity in GF’s market-leading silicon-on-insulator (RFSOI) radio frequency technologies for the Sub 6GHz 5GHz 5G front-end module (FEM), which will be manufactured primarily at GF’s Singapore facility, where site expansion plans are well advanced and a full ramp is expected in early 2023.
The announcement of specifically expands QGT’s U.S. collaboration with GF on FinFET for 5G transceivers, Wi-Fi, automotive and IoT connectivity. GF’s FinFET platforms provide a best-in-class combination of performance, power and area that is well suited for high-end mobile, automotive and IoT applications.
“This agreement through 2028 demonstrates what we have always known: that the industry will grow here when we are competitive with Asia and Europe. With major new federal incentives for U.S. microchip manufacturing, I look forward to many more announcements like this,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
Worldwide demand for semiconductors is growing at an unprecedented rate, and GF is responding to this growth through a series of long-term strategic agreements with existing and new customers, as well as simultaneously expanding global capacity to meet customer demand in collaboration with federal and local governments.