# GlobalFoundries The only non-Asian advanced [[Semiconductor Fabrication]] company besides [[Intel]], and a cornerstone of the US strategy to reshore chip manufacturing. GlobalFoundries was founded in 2009 when [[AMD]] spun off its fabrication operations, and is majority-owned by Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, which retains a 73% stake even after selling $2 billion in shares in May 2026. Under newly appointed CEO Timothy Graham Breen, GlobalFoundries posted $6.75 billion in annual revenue and Q1 2026 revenue of $1.634 billion, operating fabrication facilities in New York, Vermont, Germany, and Singapore. ## The strategic decision: specialty over bleeding-edge In 2018, GlobalFoundries made the pivotal decision to abandon leading-edge process development at 7 nanometers and below, ceding that ground to [[TSMC]], [[Samsung]], and [[Intel]]. Instead, the company focused on specialty and mature-node chips — the less glamorous but essential semiconductors that power automobiles, defense systems, industrial equipment, wireless infrastructure, and IoT devices. This strategic retreat proved prescient: while leading-edge fabrication requires tens of billions in capital expenditure per node, GlobalFoundries built a defensible business in chips where reliability, security clearance, and domestic manufacturing matter more than raw transistor density. ## CHIPS Act and US manufacturing GlobalFoundries is a primary beneficiary of the [[CHIPS and Science Act]], which designated it as one of two US quantum foundries alongside IBM and awarded it $375 million in federal funding. The company has committed $16 billion in investment to expand chip production at its facilities in Malta, New York and Essex Junction, Vermont — fabrication sites that are critical to the [[Defense Tech Ecosystem]] because they produce chips on US soil with US-cleared personnel, satisfying Department of Defense supply chain requirements that [[TSMC]]'s overseas fabs cannot. This domestic manufacturing capability gives GlobalFoundries a unique position in the [[Chip Export Controls]] landscape. As Washington pushes to reduce dependence on [[Taiwan]]-based fabrication — a supply chain that would be disrupted by any conflict in the Taiwan Strait — GlobalFoundries offers an existing, operational alternative for the mature-node chips that defense, automotive, and critical infrastructure depend on. ## Silicon photonics and quantum computing GlobalFoundries is investing heavily in silicon photonics — technology that uses light rather than electrical signals to transmit data — as its primary growth engine. The company's photonics revenue is doubling in 2026, with a target of $1 billion by 2028. This technology is essential for next-generation data-center interconnects, where electrical signaling is hitting physical limits at the bandwidth AI training clusters demand. The company's designation as a US quantum foundry positions it at the intersection of [[Semiconductor Fabrication]] and the emerging [[Quantum Computing Sector]]. Quantum chips require specialized fabrication processes that differ substantially from standard digital logic — cryogenic operation, superconducting materials, and extreme precision — and GlobalFoundries is building the manufacturing capability to produce them at scale on American soil. ## KB relevance GlobalFoundries connects to the vault's core narratives around semiconductor sovereignty, the [[CHIPS and Science Act]], and the [[Defense Tech Ecosystem]]. Its position as the only non-Asian foundry besides [[Intel]] makes it strategically irreplaceable in any scenario where [[Taiwan]] becomes inaccessible — the exact risk that drives US industrial policy on [[Semiconductor Fabrication]]. The Mubadala ownership introduces a Gulf sovereign wealth dimension that intersects with the vault's tracking of [[SoftBank]] and other sovereign-adjacent technology investments. Its [[Quantum Computing Sector]] role positions it at the frontier of national security technology development. ## See Also - [[AMD]] — the company GlobalFoundries was spun out of in 2009 - [[TSMC]] — the dominant foundry whose leading-edge monopoly GlobalFoundries chose not to challenge - [[Intel]] — the other non-Asian advanced foundry and CHIPS Act beneficiary - [[CHIPS and Science Act]] — the federal program funding GlobalFoundries' US expansion - [[Semiconductor Fabrication]] — the manufacturing process GlobalFoundries specializes in - [[Defense Tech Ecosystem]] — the national security supply chain GlobalFoundries serves - [[Quantum Computing Sector]] — the emerging sector where GlobalFoundries is a designated US foundry