GlobalFoundries is a semiconductor foundry that manufactures chips for a broad range of customers, focusing on feature-rich, reliable technologies for cars, IoT, 5G, and other high-growth markets. It operates by fabricating silicon wafers for customer designs, offering mature, specialized processes rather than chasing the most advanced nodes. This makes it different from peers that prize the latest process nodes; GlobalFoundries emphasizes diversification across a global manufacturing footprint (U.S., Europe, Singapore) and stable supply for essential applications. Its goal is to be a leading supplier of high-volume, specialty manufacturing that enables reliable chips for everyday devices and growing tech markets.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Town of Malta, New York
Founded
2009
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GlobalFoundries shares rose nearly 6% Thursday after announcing a $2 billion manufacturing deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to produce silicon interposers at its New York facility. The five-year agreement will support expanded manufacturing capacity, with volume production expected to begin in the first half of 2028. The facility is set to become the first US-based source of silicon interposers for advanced packaging technologies. These components are crucial for TSMC's Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate technology, which connects AI processors with high-bandwidth memory. The deal addresses constraints in TSMC's CoWoS packaging capacity, which has become a bottleneck for AI chip production. Counterpoint Research estimates the supply-demand gap could remain around 20% in 2026 before narrowing to roughly 10% in 2027.
Marvell Technology and GlobalFoundries expanded their partnership to boost production of silicon germanium (SiGe), a semiconductor technology used in high-speed optical connections for data centres. Following the announcement on 17 September, Marvell shares rose over 4% whilst GlobalFoundries climbed more than 6%. The multi-year agreement will increase SiGe manufacturing capacity at GlobalFoundries' Burlington, Vermont facility. The technology enables semiconductor devices to operate at higher speeds with reduced energy consumption. GlobalFoundries reported strong demand for SiGe, with CEO Tim Breen noting the company is "oversubscribed throughout 2027". The firm's communications infrastructure and data centre segment revenue jumped 62% year over year in Q2 2026. Marvell posted record revenue of $2.739 billion in Q2 fiscal 2027, up 37% year over year, driven by AI data centre demand.
Kepler Computing has raised $468 million from investors including GlobalFoundries, Intel Capital, AMD Ventures, and Bill Gates to develop memory chips that bypass expensive extreme ultraviolet lithography. The San Jose startup uses ferroelectric materials and 3D stacking to increase high-bandwidth memory and SRAM density whilst working with existing semiconductor fabs. The company claims it can convert a fab to next-generation capability in eight months versus the typical 24-month timeline. However, the technology faces contamination challenges because its composite material includes iron, requiring dedicated equipment or encapsulation. Kepler has been testing at GlobalFoundries facilities in Singapore and Vermont, producing chips on approximately 2,000 wafers. The US Department of Commerce committed up to $245 million in July to support domestic development. First HBM samples are planned for late 2025, with US production targeted for 2028.
Kepler Computing lands $245 million in CHIPS Act funding for ferroelectric RAM technology it claims can solve the AI-driven memory shortage with
GlobalFoundries and RAAAM Memory Technologies have announced a collaboration to develop Gain-Cell RAM (GCRAM) technology on GlobalFoundries' FDX platform. The partnership has achieved a significant milestone with the successful tape-out of a GCRAM test vehicle. The technology addresses growing on-chip memory demands for edge AI, automotive, and IoT devices. Using RAAAM's patented GCRAM, the companies achieved a 40% memory area reduction and up to 60% power savings compared to SRAM. The firms have jointly designed and taped out a GCRAM test chip. They plan to provide GCRAM design access to lead customers in early 2027. NXP Semiconductors is evaluating the solution. Victor Wang, vice president of front end innovation at NXP, noted the technology's potential for increasing on-chip memory capacities and improving system-level efficiency.