Globalfoundries and Skywater reach agreement to provide chips for US defense industry

Reuters news, Globalfoundries and SkyWater said on Thursday that the two sides reached an agreement to supply chips to the US defense industry and develop new technologies.

Globalfoundries provided chips for the U.S. defense industry through multiple U.S. factories acquired in 2015. In addition, IBM’s chip manufacturing division was also acquired by it. Skywater was spun off from Cypress Semiconductor in the United States in 2017. Last year it received $170 million in funding from the US Department of Defense to develop chips that are resistant to nuclear and space radiation.

According to a memorandum of agreement announced on Thursday, both parties will adjust their respective technologies to provide a reliable mass production channel for the defense industry. SkyWater's chief technology officer and head of government relations Brad Ferguson said in a statement: "This agreement can complement the government's policy aimed at restoring U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing."

Last week, the US Congress and the House of Representatives proposed a bill to provide at least $22.8 billion in subsidies to the chip industry, most of which will be used to encourage the construction of chip factories.