GlobalFoundries inaugurates $4B Singapore chip fabrication factory

GlobalFoundries, the third-largest contract chipmaker in the world, opened a $4 billion semiconductor fabrication factory in Singapore as part of a major global manufacturing expansion.

The US chipmaker’s new 23,000 square meters facility will be able to produce 450,000 300mm wafers per year at full capacity, expected by 2025 to 2026, and will create 1,000 jobs, Tan Yew Kong, the company’s Singapore general manager told reporters.

Kong said that if the company was to run its Singapore campus to its fullest capacity, which would probably be around 45% of revenue for GlobalFoundries, he also added that the company expected weak global demand for chips to increase by the second half of 2024.

GlobalFoundries’ operations in Singapore, which serve 200 clients globally, also include two other fabrication plants that produce 720,000 300mm semiconductor wafers and 692,000 200mm semiconductor wafers a year respectively. The chips are used in 5G technology and cars.

In 2021, GlobalFoundries announced a $6 billion global expansion plan during a chip shortage during the pandemic that has since reversed into a surplus.

Qualcomm, one of GlobalFoundries’ biggest clients, said it had signed a deal with Apple to supply 5G chips until at least 2026, which will benefit GlobalFoundries.

GlobalFoundries is the third-largest foundry in the world by revenue, after TSMC in Taiwan and Samsung Electronics in South Korea, according to market intelligence provider TrendForce.

More chipmakers are expected to open or expand operations in the coming months, which will increase Singapore's overall semiconductor output, which currently accounts for 11% of the global market.