GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that it plans to invest an additional US$4 billion in the US, citing growing demand from US customers seeking locally produced wafers amid ongoing uncertainty over US tariff policies.
The announcement was made at the opening ceremony of the company’s new advanced 12-inch wafer fabrication plant in Sherman, Texas. The latest commitment would bring GlobalWafers’ total investment in the US to US$7.5 billion, the company said.
“We have seen fervent demand from American customers for our local capacity in the US. Although the product verification process is still underway, those American companies have shown strong interest in booking more local capacity,” GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told reporters during a conference call yesterday.
Photo courtesy of GlobalWafers Co
“They are hoping to secure more local supply in order to reduce tariff uncertainty,” Hsu said.
GlobalWafers supplies silicon wafers to major chipmakers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電). TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to build six wafer fabrication plants, as well as a chip packaging facility and a research- and-development center in the US, with a total investment of US$165 billion.
Citing data from the White House, GlobalWafers said that Nvidia Corp and several other semiconductor companies have pledged to boost their US investments to at least US$500 billion.
Three years ago, GlobalWafers announced a US$3.5 billion investment to fund the first and second phases of its flagship expansion project in the US, supported by the CHIPS Act.
The first fabrication facility is now operational and scheduled to begin high-volume production in the second half of this year, the company said.
The additional US$4 billion investment would fund phases three and four of GlobalWafers’ expansion in Sherman, where the company operates a 57-hectare manufacturing campus, the company said.
Upon completion of all four phases, monthly production capacity is expected to surge to more than 1 million 12-inch wafers, it said.
“This is an aggressive and bold target, but we will not hastily pour all of the US$4 billion in. We will not make any further investment if we do not translate every phase of expansion into earnings or secure [sufficient] long-term supply agreements,” Hsu said.
GlobalWafers has not set a timeline for the construction of new wafer fabrication facilities under phases three and four. Consistent with its past approach, the company typically proceeds with new capacity expansion only after securing long-term supply agreements, with most of the capacity prebooked by customers and supported by prepayments.
As the only advanced wafer manufacturer operating in the US, the additional investment, bolstered by continued support from the US government and US President Donald Trump’s administration, is expected to help ensure a stable supply of advanced wafers critical to powering a wide range of next-generation technologies and innovations, GlobalWafers said.
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