WASHINGTON — Japan will invest $21 billion (about 28 trillion won) to build semiconductor plants for GlobalFoundries in the United States, part of the implementation of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement that is expanding Japanese investment in the U.S. from energy into semiconductors.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on the 14th that GlobalFoundries and the Commerce Department had announced a $21 billion investment to build two new semiconductor plants in Malta, New York. Trump said Japan would provide the funding for the $21 billion investment under his direction, calling it the result of his trade agreement and saying it would create 27,000 high-paying construction jobs and more than 1,000 high-skilled manufacturing jobs in New York state.
The plants will produce essential chips used in automobiles, industrial equipment and telecommunications equipment, Bloomberg reported. Supplies of such chips have been disrupted as the artificial intelligence boom has pushed chipmakers to concentrate their capacity on advanced semiconductors such as AI accelerators.
The investment will proceed in two phases. Construction of the first plant will begin this year at a cost of about $10 billion, with operations targeted for 2029. A second plant will follow with an additional $10 billion investment. Each plant will have annual capacity of 900,000 300mm wafers, for a combined 1.8 million. GlobalFoundries Chief Executive Tim Breen said the new plants would increase U.S. wafer capacity by 10%.
The investment is part of Japan's $550 billion pledge to invest in the United States. The two governments will create a special purpose vehicle that will raise the funds and manage construction, production and technology across the project. "Of course we have a strong interest in having Japanese equipment suppliers participate in this project," Breen said. "We will work with a very open mind and will actively cooperate with the Japanese ecosystem in particular."
GlobalFoundries shares jumped as much as 6.6% during the session before closing up 4.8%. The stock was up 34% so far this year as of the close on the 13th. Japan's Nikkei said the investment marked a spread of Japanese investment in the United States from energy infrastructure into high-tech manufacturing.
Also notable in the announcement was the U.S. government's decision to take a stake in GlobalFoundries. The United States will acquire a 4% stake in the company, according to Bloomberg. GlobalFoundries said it would use $955 million in subsidies previously awarded under the U.S. CHIPS Act to accelerate investment in silicon photonics, silicon germanium and advanced packaging.
