GlobalFoundries announced that it will invest $575 million to build an advanced chip packaging and test center at the Fab 8 campus in Malta, New York, and an additional $186 million over the next decade to develop a super-network.
The U.S. Department of Commerce provided $75 million for the project through the CHIPS and Science Act, and the State of New York will provide $20 million in funding. The construction of this project not only demonstrates GLOBALFOUNDRIES' firm commitment to its own development, but also highlights the positive attitude and strong support of the US government in promoting the development of the local semiconductor industry.
The new center is expected to create 100 new jobs within five years, which is undoubtedly a positive sign for the local job market. GLOBALFOUNDRIES now employs more than 2,500 people at Fab 8, which will further expand in size and impact with the completion and operation of the new center.
The focus of this expansion is silicon photonics, an advanced technology that combines optical and electrical components to provide better efficiency and performance than traditional chips that rely solely on silicon and copper. Silicon photonics technology is expected to bring new breakthroughs and innovations to key end markets such as artificial intelligence, automotive, aerospace and defense, and communications where there is a growing demand for high-performance chips. GLOBALFOUNDRIES' differentiated silicon photonics platform, which integrates optical and electronic components on a single chip, achieves both power efficiency and performance advantages, and provides strong technical support to meet market demand.
Pictured: GlobalFoundries at the Chip Packaging and Photonics Centre in Malta (source network).
Under GLOBALFOUNDRY's Trusted Foundry certification, the center will provide aerospace and defense customers with a full range of advanced packaging, crashing, assembly, and testing services, ensuring that chips used in sensitive national security systems are produced without leaving the U.S., ensuring national information security.
For a long time, U.S. chipmakers often need to ship chips to Asia for packaging and testing after the chip is manufactured, which not only increases costs, but also faces risks such as supply chain disruptions. GLOBALFOUNDRIES' local chip packaging and testing center will enable semiconductors to be manufactured, processed, packaged and tested completely in the United States, optimizing the supply chain of the semiconductor industry in the United States, reducing dependence on overseas packaging and testing facilities, and improving the autonomy and controllability of the industry.
This move by GLOBALFOUNDRIES is of far-reaching strategic significance for the development of the U.S. semiconductor industry. On the one hand, it will help consolidate the position of the United States in the global semiconductor field and enhance the competitiveness of the United States in chip packaging and photonics technology. On the other hand, it will also drive the coordinated development of related industrial chains and promote the further improvement of the domestic semiconductor industry ecology in the United States. At the same time, the implementation of the project also provides reference and inspiration for the development of the semiconductor industry in other countries and regions, and triggers in-depth thinking on the layout and technological innovation of the semiconductor industry on a global scale.
In the future, with the completion and operation of the center, GLOBALFOUNDRIES is expected to achieve more technological breakthroughs and commercial results in the field of chip packaging and photonics, injecting new vitality and impetus into the development of the global semiconductor industry. At the same time, the continuous investment and innovation of the U.S. government and enterprises in the semiconductor industry will also enable it to occupy a more favorable position in the global technology competition and lead the semiconductor industry to new heights.
