Semiconductor foundries form an important part of the industry
A foundry is a company that manufactures chips in a fabrication plant, often referred to as a fab. Such firms rely on semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials to fabricate a chip design on a silicon wafer. Wafer fabrication is a highly capital-intensive process, requiring extensive and deep knowledge, especially in the production of the most powerful, innovative chips needed in modern electronics and applications. As a result, the foundry market is concentrated among a few players in specific regions around the world: Taiwan alone accounts for around 66 percent of revenues generated by the global semiconductor foundry market.GlobalFoundries lags behind the likes of TSMC and Samsung Foundry
The foundry market leader is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), with the company contracted to complete fabrication tasks for a variety of customers including Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm. TSMC occupies over 50 percent of the foundry market, with competitors including the likes of GlobalFoundries, Samsung in South Korea, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in China. To meet the growing demands for semiconductors, chip manufacturers have announced investments that will support capacity increases, particularly in the development of new fabrication plants.Building on partnerships in the United States
To address the challenges of the growing demand for semiconductors, governments around the world have set out investment plans and growth strategies to support the industry. In the United States, the CHIPS for America Fund will see over 50 billion U.S. dollars be directed toward semiconductor manufacturing, as well as research and development. Already, GlobalFoundries has looked to capitalize on this with a series of partnerships, including with General Motors (GM), where a long-term agreement was made to establish a dedicated capacity corridor exclusively for GM’s chip supply – a major win for the U.S. automotive sector.GlobalFoundries is also looking to develop its operations in Europe
Looking across the pond to Europe, the European Union has set out plans for 43 billion euros of public and private investment as it seeks to increase its market share in leading-edge semiconductors to 20 percent in the next decade. The European Chips Act aims to strengthen Europe’s research and technology leadership towards advanced chips, reinforce capacity, and develop a deeper understanding of global semiconductor supply chains. GlobalFoundries has sought to benefit from this, this time alongside STMicroelectronics, with the French government supporting the construction and operation of a new microchip manufacturing facility in France – a project that is in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act.
