MALTA, N.Y. — Computer chip company GlobalFoundries Inc. said Wednesday it plans to open two factories in Malta, New York, financed by an investment of up to US$21 billion from Japan. The company said the deal was made possible by the Trump administration’s trade and investment agreement with the Japanese government. It said the initiative will accelerate semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and strengthen critical supply chains. The company previously received some federal funding to expand as part of a Biden administration program to expand chip production. As a result of the investment from Japan, that federal funding will now go to investments in other areas to advance semiconductor manufacturing, GlobalFoundries spokesperson Kenneth Craig said in an email. U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that the U.S. government will receive shares in GlobalFoundries, just as it did for Intel Corp., in an expansion of the administration’s policy of taking ownership stakes in private companies. GlobalFoundries said in a statement that roughly US$10 billion would accelerate construction of a chip factory to open in 2029 and the other US$10 billion would fund a second plant. Demand for semiconductors has surged in recent years thanks to artificial intelligence and the need for computing power at data centers. In July, Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC said it plans to spend another US$100 billion on expanding its manufacturing capacity in the U.S. TSMC has been expanding chip fabrication plants in the U.S., Japan and Taiwan.
