December 21, 2023 As we move forward into the new year, Foundry Files takes a step back to reflect on the key accomplishments of GlobalFoundries (GF) in 2023. From being a trusted partner, to strengthening our global footprint, to advancing our essential semiconductor technologies, to maintaining relentless focus on our team, let’s look at this past year’s GF news and milestones. Strengthening Our Global Footprint New Singapore Facility Opens Sorry, this video requires cookie consent. Please accept marketing-cookies to watch this video. GF’s $4 billion facility expansion in Singapore officially opened in September, in partnership with customers and the Singapore government. Singapore’s most advanced semiconductor production facility, it will produce an additional 450,000 300mm wafers annually, boosting GF’s total annual capacity in Singapore to about 1.5 million 300mm wafers. The new facility boosts GF’s global manufacturing footprint and is instrumental in ensuring that we have the capacity our customers around the world need as they seek to strengthen their supply chains. Click here to watch Yew Kong Tan, SVP and GM of GF’s Singapore site, discuss the expansion, and check out news coverage from Reuters, Bloomberg, and CNBC. Also, click here to read about the many ways this new facility is raising the bar for sustainability and efficiency with state-of-the-art environmental performance and controls. Opening New Malaysia Office Complementing the Singapore expansion was the opening of GF’s new hub facility in Penang, Malaysia. This new facility is part of a strategic hub network that will provide fundamental round-the-clock support for GF’s global manufacturing operations, enabling us to deliver supply chain resiliency as we deliver on our commitments to meet the market demand for essential GF-manufactured chips. The close proximity between Malaysia and Singapore also opens opportunities for cross-border initiatives, and for broadening the talent pool. Read more about the announcement in the New Straits Times and Tech in Asia. U.S. CHIPS and Science Act In September GF announcing it applied for funding from the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, with two full applications submitted to the CHIPS Program Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The submitted applications were for capacity expansion and modernization of GF’s U.S. manufacturing facilities. Click here to watch Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF, discuss the CHIPS Act on CNBC. Helping Our Partners Achieve Supply Chain Resiliency GF and GM Join Forces February saw the announcement of a strategic long-term agreement between GF and General Motors (GM). The first-of-its-kind agreement created dedicated production capacity exclusively for GM at GF’s fab in Malta, New York. The agreement strengthens U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and supports GM’s strategy to reduce the number of unique chips needed to power increasingly complex vehicles. As Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, said: “We see our semiconductor requirements more than doubling over the next several years as vehicles become technology platforms. The supply agreement with GlobalFoundries will help establish a strong, resilient supply of critical technology in the U.S. that will help GM meet this demand, while delivering new technology and features to our customers.” Check out news coverage of the announcement from Reuters, New York Times, AP, and CNN. Click here to read more about the ways GF technology is driving automation in the automotive industry. Collaborating with Lockheed Martin on Secure Chips In June, GF and defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate technological innovation and increase the security, reliability and resiliency of domestic supply chains for mission-critical national security systems. The collaboration directly supports U.S. government goals of increasing traceability, provenance, and onshore production of critical semiconductor technologies. The announcement was made at our Malta, New York, facility by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Jim Taiclet, and GF President and CEO Dr. Thomas Caulfield. As Jim Taiclet said: “Lockheed Martin is focused on delivering cutting-edge 21st Century Security capabilities that advance deterrence and keep our customers ahead of emerging threats. This begins with securely manufactured semiconductors. We look forward to working with GlobalFoundries to help increase access to domestically produced microelectronics – a true national security imperative.” Read news coverage of the announcement from Reuters, EE Times, Defense News, and Fierce Electronics. Sorry, this video requires cookie consent. Please accept marketing-cookies to watch this video. Ongoing Leadership in Aerospace and Defense GF is a longstanding partner to the U.S. government and the leading supplier of securely manufactured essential chips for the aerospace and defense industry. In September, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) extended its partnership with GF, with the award of a 10-year, $3.1 billion contract for the supply of secure semiconductors for use across a wide range of critical aerospace and defense applications. Many of these chips will be manufactured using GF’s advanced 12nm FinFET technologies, and will be used in DoD systems on land, sea, air and in space. This year also saw the DoD accredit GF’s Malta, New York, facility to the highest security level, Trusted Supplier Category 1A. Read news coverage of the announcement of the new 10-year DoD contract at Tom’s Hardware, EE News, and Electronic Design. Advancing Essential Chip Technology and Innovation Growing Our Portfolio of Differentiated Technologies GF added many new and enhanced capabilities to its already broad and deep portfolio of differentiated technologies in 2023. At GF’s annual Technology Summit in Europe, we announced a suite of advancements to our fast-growing 22FDX® (22nm FD-SOI) platform. These innovations bring exceptional power efficiency, enhanced performance, temperature-resistant operation and other benefits to demanding IoT and automotive applications. At the GF Technology Summit in North America, GF announced our new 9SW RFSOI platform, an advancement of the industry’s first 300 mm RFSOI foundry solution. Building upon GF’s 9swexisting 8SW RFSOI technology – and designed collaboratively with key customers – it is the industry’s most advanced RF solution. It offers significant improvements in flexibility, performance, integration, size and cost for 5G mobile and wireless communications applications. As David Archbold, vice president of product marketing for the wireless semiconductor division at Broadcom said about 9SW RFSOI: “Developing high-speed, more reliable connectivity is critical for the key 5G mobile and next-generation applications that we all depend on to live, work and play. With this new generation of technology, Broadcom will enable our customers to deliver the best possible 5G mobile experience to their end users.” Also at that summit, GF announced additions to two of its technology platforms for next-generation electric and autonomous vehicles. Our 40ESF3 AutoPro™ 175 is a new technology that gives automotive customers a set of both technology solutions and manufacturing services to help minimize certification efforts and speed time-to-market. Our new 130BCDLite Gen2 ATV125 power management solution supports high-voltage and other automotive applications, and meets the rigorous Auto Grade 1 qualification for high-temperature operation. Innovating the Next Generation of Essential Chips GF remains hard at work researching and developing new essential chip technologies that hold the promise of new game-changing capabilities and features. In October, GF was awarded was awarded $35 million in U.S. Department of Defense funding to accelerate implementation of large-scale manufacturing of GF’s gallium nitride (GaN)-on-silicon semiconductors at our facility in Essex Junction, Vermont. GaN technology is positioned to offer significant performance and efficiency for smartphones, electric vehicles, power grids, and many other applications. In the academic world, GF is a key partner for university collaborations on many levels. On a technical level, GF’s university network ecosystem fosters collaborations with professors who are world experts in technical disciplines relevant to GF’s end markets. GF works with the professors, gives them access to its differentiated technologies, provides engineering support, and manufactures their designs. In return, GF receives valuable technical feedback and has learned many different ways in which its platform technologies can be used to create innovative solutions for customers. This type of rich collaboration is at the heart of our announcement in March about GF’s new partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology. Fostering a Culture of Innovation Innovation is fundamental to GF and the semiconductor industry. In 2023 during our annual GF Patent Week celebration, GF announced the new GFX Prize, a $50,000 award which recognizes a single groundbreaking invention from among all of GF’s inventors worldwide. The inaugural winner was Dr. Yusheng Bian, a technology development engineer, GF Master Inventor, and 2021 DEI in Inventorship Champion. Dr. Bian has more than 170 worldwide patents and 260 patents pending and was awarded the GFX Prize for his work in silicon photonics technology. Be sure to check out this great Q&A with Dr. Bian. In addition to the GFX Prize, GF Patent Week recognized six new Master Inventors from the U.S., India and Europe, to support GF’s company-wide culture of inventorship and innovation. Laura Silverstein, an integration engineer with GF in Essex Junction, Vermont, was recognized as GF’s 2023 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in Inventorship Champion. Relentless Focus on People and Community Innovative Student Loan Repayment Program Investing in our workforce and building a talent pipeline is a critical need for GF, our communities, and our industry. In November we announced a new student loan repayment program to help U.S.-based employees and eligible new recruits pay up to $28,500 in student loan debt, tax-free. The goal is to strengthen the semiconductor talent workforce by helping to ease the financial burden of higher education and training of GF’s present and future employees. As Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF, said: “In the semiconductor industry, poised to double again over the next decade, the blueprint for tomorrow’s innovations is directly linked to the talent we cultivate today. By enhancing our employee benefit programs, especially through our student loan assistance, GF is not only strengthening and building its own talent pipeline but also striving to set an industry benchmark. It’s this very talent that is critical to delivering the essential semiconductors the world relies on to live, work and connect.” Click here to read Newsweek’s coverage of this new program. Putting People First People are GF’s most valuable resource. Recognizing and valuing GF’s employees and encouraging them to bring their authentic self to work every day, is critical to supporting GF’s company-wide culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. GF was proud to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023 in March and recognize women across the company for their outstanding work. GF’s largest employee resource group (ERG) is GlobalWomen, which has chapters around the world. Every year each chapter celebrates and awards women and allies who exemplify GF’s values with recognition events. In 2023, there were 10 such events and more than 1,000 attendees in total. Click here to see the current list of GF’s employee-driven ERGs, including our newest ERG, ConnectAbility, which enables inclusion, accessibility, awareness, and support for individuals with disabilities, caregivers, and allies. This group creates a supportive network where individuals can connect, share experiences and strategies, and empower the potential of every individual in navigating life and career journeys. Click here to read more about diversity, equity, and inclusion at GF. Commitment to ESG, Corporate Responsibility and Community GF has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to corporate responsibility, and in 2023 we received several recognitions for our environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) efforts. In addition to being included on Newsweek’s “America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024” list, GF was named to Morningstar Sustainalytics’ “2023 Industry Top-Rated ESG Companies” List. Also in 2023, GF maintained its “Low Risk” rating from Morningstar Sustainalytics and maintained its “Prime” Corporate ESG rating from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). As Stacey Barrick, GF’s global head of ESG, said: “GF is committed to environmentally sustainable manufacturing and to being a world-class employer. Corporate responsibility and ESG are fundamental to who we are as a company, and factor into every decision we make.” Click here to read further about our resource conservation efforts, and click here to read more about ESG at GF. Click here to view GF’s full 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report, which offers a comprehensive review of our ESG successes over the past year. Last, but certainly not least, GF’s team came together once again to make a positive impact in our communities. In 2023, GF and employees made total donations of $1.2 million USD and volunteered a total of 8,867 hours to benefit more than 1,400 different nonprofits and charities. Click here to read more about our GlobalGives employee giving program.
