Japan to fund up to $21 billion for two New York chip plants run by GlobalFoundries

Japan will invest up to $21 billion in two new semiconductor plants in New York state to be built and operated by GlobalFoundries, the company said on Wednesday. The first fab, costing about $10 billion, is expected to come online in 2029 at GlobalFoundries' Malta site, with a second of similar size to follow. Each is expected to add about 900,000 300mm wafers of annual capacity, and groundbreaking on the first is planned for later in 2026.

The project falls under Japan's $550 billion U.S. investment pledge agreed with President Trump in exchange for lower tariffs on Japanese cars. According to Reuters, the plants will be jointly owned by the U.S. government and Japanese interests, with Japan providing all the capital. In a separate deal, the Commerce Department will receive a stake of about 4% in GlobalFoundries, bringing total government ownership to about 7%, CEO Tim Breen said.

GlobalFoundries named Apple and Japan's Renesas among the first customers, along with Cirrus Logic and General Motors. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said: "This is how the President's trade agreements result in transformational American industrial assets." GlobalFoundries shares rose about 5% in premarket trading.