Around $10 billion is initially set to be invested in the facility in New York state. A later expansion could raise the total to $21 billion.

Japan and the United States have agreed to build a semiconductor plant in New York state. It will be located at GlobalFoundries’ site in Malta, with the US contract chipmaker providing the technology and operating the facility. Construction is scheduled to begin before the end of 2026, while production could start in 2029. At full capacity, the plant is expected to produce around 900,000 wafers measuring 300 millimetres in diameter each year. Wafers are discs made from semiconductor material on which numerous individual chips are manufactured.

The financing will be provided under the two countries’ Strategic Investment Initiative through Japanese public funds and guaranteed bank loans. As Japan’s Foreign Ministry said, the initial $10 billion investment could eventually rise to $21 billion if additional production facilities are added.

GlobalFoundries has named Japanese chipmaker Renesas and US technology group Apple as initial customers. Apple already has certain chips for its devices manufactured by GlobalFoundries.

At the same time, GlobalFoundries is reallocating up to $955 million from an existing US government funding commitment. The award, totalling up to $1.6 billion, was originally intended for a new facility in Malta and the expansion of existing plants. A larger share will now go to current sites, where capacity for silicon-germanium, silicon photonics and advanced chip packaging will be expanded.

More on hidden dependencies in the US chip supply chain: US Chip Industry: Raw Material Risks Run Deep into Supply Chains – RAWMATERIALS.net 

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