Japan will fund two semiconductor plants in New York, with the US taking an ownership stake and GlobalFoundries building and operating the facilities as chip supply chains become a strategic priority.
Japan is poised to commit as much as $21bn to two semiconductor plants in New York state, in a deal that would place the factories under joint US and Japanese ownership while GlobalFoundries runs the sites, according to the company and reports carried by Channel NewsAsia and Investing.com. The arrangement is the latest sign that chip manufacturing has become entwined with trade policy, industrial strategy and national security, rather than being left purely to private capital.
GlobalFoundries said the US government will take a stake in the new facilities, while Japan will supply all of the funding. The Malta, New York-based chipmaker, which is controlled by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co, is expected to be paid for building and operating the plants and for licensing its manufacturing technology to them, according to the company and the reports. Shares in GlobalFoundries rose sharply after the announcement, reflecting investor expectations that the project could add scale to its US operations.
The investment forms part of a broader US-Japan agreement under which Tokyo has pledged $550bn to projects in the United States, in return for Washington lowering tariffs on Japanese imports from at least 25 per cent to 15 per cent. Reuters, as quoted in the reporting, said the US will also take a 4 per cent stake in GlobalFoundries itself, lifting its total holding to about 7 per cent. Tim Breen, the company’s chief executive, said initial customers for the New York fabs include Renesas Electronics and Apple, and that GlobalFoundries would prioritise US and Japanese buyers before allocating capacity more widely.
The project also appears designed to reinforce the domestic supply chain for chipmaking equipment and related services. Breen said some of the capital would flow back to Japanese toolmakers, including Tokyo Electron, alongside US rivals that dominate semiconductor production equipment. Investing.com reported that the first site is expected to involve roughly $10bn for a 300mm fab scheduled to begin operations in 2029, with a second plant to receive a similar amount, and that the initiative could create tens of thousands of construction and ecosystem jobs as well as more than 1,000 manufacturing roles.
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