Global Foundry, the world's third largest foundry, will invest US$1.4 billion to expand production
Source: Science and Technology News 2021-04-07
According to foreign media reports, GlobalFoundries, the third largest foundry in the world, recently pointed out that it plans to invest US$1.4 billion in expansion this year, and the investment may double again next year. At the same time, GlobalFoundries CEO Thomas Caulfield also said, The semiconductor shortage will continue until 2022 or even later to slow down.
In an interview with CNBC, Caulfield revealed that GF's current capacity utilization rate exceeds 100%, and the overall capacity is fully loaded, and GF is increasing its production capacity at the fastest speed. However, the current shortage of supply in the semiconductor industry has not slowed down, and it may continue until 2022 or later. In response to this situation, GF will invest US$1.4 billion in expansion this year, and the amount of investment next year will be Will double again.
Caulfield further explained that the shortage of chips is having a serious impact on the global industry, such as delays in car production or the operations of consumer electronics manufacturers; and the shortage of chips also highlights the importance of foundries. Therefore, foundries like GF are also stepping up their pace, investing billions of dollars to build new production lines and purchase new equipment to solve the predicament of surge in demand and shortage of supply.
Caulfield explained that past foundry investments have focused on advanced manufacturing processes to create the most cutting-edge and high-performance chips. However, the epidemic has accelerated the demand for remote work, and the demand for notebook computers, monitors and other products has surged. In addition to the CPU, other chips (such as power management ICs) are needed in these consumer electronic products. This has become the beginning of chip shortage; It also highlights what Caulfield said, "The foundry needs more capacity to produce feature-rich chips."
For example, Caulfield, for example, there is a shortage of automotive chips, but what is missing is not chips that use "advanced processes", but other chips, such as automotive radars. These products currently do not require the most advanced process technology.
Caulfield believes that it will take several months to increase the number of chip supplies, but the increase in production capacity is meaningful for long-term investment. The semiconductor industry before the epidemic was originally expected to have an annual growth rate of 5% in the next five years, but now the growth rate has doubled. This is a structural change, and the market's demand for semiconductors is accelerating.