New York – October 24, 2026 -- GlobalFoundries (GF) has committed $16 billion to expand manufacturing and advanced packaging in New York and Vermont, and has designated its Vermont site as the core hub for gallium nitride (GaN) technology development. The June 4, 2025 announcement is backed by Apple, SpaceX, AMD, Qualcomm, NXP and General Motors.
The plan also covers silicon photonics for data centers and FDX processes for edge AI. One month after the announcement, TSMC confirmed it will exit the GaN foundry business by 2027, which leaves a gap in the market for a domestic alternative.
CHIPS Act funding underwrites GF's New York expansion
The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act authorizes roughly $280 billion. Of that, $52.7 billion goes directly to the U.S. semiconductor industry: $39 billion for domestic manufacturing and $13.2 billion for research and workforce development. A $24 billion investment tax credit adds 25% on qualified capital expenditures for U.S. semiconductor facilities.
Recipients face guardrails. They may not enter joint R&D or technology licensing with foreign entities of concern, and they may not expand advanced semiconductor manufacturing in designated countries, including China, for a decade.
GF received $1.5 billion in direct federal funding to expand Fab 8 in Malta, New York. New York State added $575 million in matching funds.
Vermont's Fab 9 carries GF's GaN-on-silicon development
Fab 9 in Essex Junction is a former IBM asset and a DoD-certified Trusted Foundry for aerospace and military communications chips. GF is building a GaN-on-Si process on its existing 200mm CMOS platform, designed to be compatible with its 180nm workflows.
Federal support for GF's GaN work predates the CHIPS Act. The DoD's Trusted Access Program Office provided $40 million in phased funding from 2020 to 2022, and total government funding for platform development exceeded $85 million between 2020 and 2023.
GF reported $6.75 billion in 2024 revenue after exiting leading-edge logic
GF shipped 2.1 million 300mm-equivalent wafers in 2024. It stepped away from the race for logic at 7nm and below to focus on differentiated technologies.
GaN2BCD integration and two IP deals form the commercialization path
GF's flagship GaN2BCD technology bonds GaN power dies directly to BCD control wafers. In a boost converter demonstration, the approach delivered a 4x increase in load capacity and a 10% gain in peak efficiency. A Class D audio amplifier reached 91.6% efficiency in a millimeter-scale package.
GF bought Tagore Technology's high-power GaN IP portfolio in 2024, securing proven 650V E-mode GaN HEMT designs. It is also working with Finwave Semiconductor on a low-voltage, high-gain GaN platform for 5G/6G and mobile RF, with mass production slated for early 2026.
GF is targeting the 50V to 650V range. GaN has a 3.42 eV bandgap and a Normalized Johnson figure of merit of 28, against 1 for silicon.