Japan to fund up to $21 billion for two GlobalFoundries chip plants in New York
Japan will finance two new semiconductor factories in Malta, New York, while the U.S. government raises its stake in GlobalFoundries to about 7%.
Symbolic image · Photo: Fensterblick. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries plans two new factories in Malta, New York, financed with up to $21 billion from Japan, the company announced Wednesday, Oct. 14. According to Reuters, the plants will be jointly owned by the U.S. government and Japanese interests, with Japan providing all of the capital. GlobalFoundries will earn fees for building and operating the factories and for licensing its manufacturing technology to them.
About $10 billion will speed up construction of a plant expected to open in 2029, and roughly another $10 billion will fund a second factory, for which no opening date was given. Initial customers include Japan's Renesas Electronics and Apple. “We definitely would like to give priority to U.S. and Japanese customers,” CEO Tim Breen said. He added that some of the Japanese money will flow back to toolmakers such as Tokyo Electron.
The deal is part of Japan's pledge to invest $550 billion in the United States in exchange for lower tariffs. President Donald Trump said on social media that the government would receive shares in GlobalFoundries, as it did with Intel. Breen said a separate agreement gives the government another 4%, bringing its total stake to about 7%. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Co. holds a majority of the company.