UAE-backed GlobalFoundries plans $16bn investment to expand US semiconductor manufacturing

Apple's Tim Cook praises announcement

GlobalFoundries, a UAE-backed company, announced plans to invest $16 billion to expand its semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities across its sites in New York and Vermont. Photo: GlobalFoundriesShow less

US-based semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries, owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, announced plans on Wednesday to invest $16 billion to expand semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging in the states of New York and Vermont.

According to a news release from the UAE-backed company, it is collaborating with Apple, SpaceX, AMD, Qualcomm, NXP and General Motors on the project.

“These companies partner with GlobalFoundries to support their production of US-made chips, underscoring GF’s role as a trusted supplier of essential semiconductors and a key enabler of supply chain security,” the company said.

In 2021 GlobalFoundries, the world’s third-largest semiconductor manufacturer, owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, raised nearly $2.6 billion in its initial public offering in the US. Photo: Nasdaq

According to GlobalFoundries, the investment announcement is the result of work with President Donald Trump's administration as well as “support from leading technology companies aiming to onshore critical components of their supply chain”.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook, noting that GlobalFoundries has supplied the Cupertino-based technology giant with chips since 2010, welcomed the investment announcement.

“We’re excited to see them expand right here in the US and these chips are an essential part of Apple products like iPhone, and they’re a powerful example of American manufacturing leadership,” he said.

General Motors president Mark Reuss also spoke highly of the investment, reflecting on its potential to safeguard the US supply chain.

“Semiconductors are critical to the future of vehicles, and their importance will only grow,” he said.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook spoke highly of the GlobalFoundries investment announcement.

“GlobalFoundries’ investment supports our work to secure a reliable, US-based chip supply – essential for delivering the safety, infotainment and features our customers expect.”

The investment plans come weeks after UAE President Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Trump witnessed the unveiling of plans for a new 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi during the US leader's visit to the Emirates in May.

The campus will include five gigawatts of capacity for AI data centres in Abu Dhabi, providing a regional platform from which US hyperscalers will be able to offer latency-friendly services to nearly half of the population living within 3,200km of the UAE.

The AI campus came after months of consternation from US technology companies and UAE officials concerned about new chip export policies announced during the final days of former president Joe Biden's administration.

Critics of the policy feels it put an unfair ceiling on the UAE's peaceful AI aspirations, yet with the announcement of the AI campus, experts have said that the worries over chip access have largely subsided.

During a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Senator Christopher Coons told Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick he was concerned that the recently announced deal would put the US at risk of being dependent on the Middle East for computing capacity.

Mr Lutnick, who called the GlobalFoundries investment an example of a return to US manufacturing of semiconductors, said he agreed that more than half of compute must be done on US shores.

“The deal with the UAE said if you buy a significant number of chips, you will invest in America to build data centres in America for an equal amount of chips. So that investment must be dual there and here,” Mr Lutnick told politicians during the hearing.

As for the GlobalFoundries investment, the company's chief executive Tim Breen hailed what it would mean for the US.

“With all these technologies and more manufactured right here in the US, GlobalFoundries is proud to play its part in accelerating America’s semiconductor leadership.”