GlobalFoundries-Lockheed Martin Venture to Ramp up U.S. Chip-making

MALTA — With GlobalFoundries taking a lead role, America is about to raise the curtain on a ramped-up silicon chip-making production. 

Earlier this week, semiconductor producer GlobalFoundries and heavyweight defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced a collaboration intended to improve computer chip manufacturing and innovation with the goal of enhancing the security, reliability, and resiliency of domestic supply chains for America’s security systems. Under the new partnership, GlobalFoundries will produce the chips that Lockheed Martin needs for its defense and aerospace systems. 

The announcement, made at GF’s advanced manufacturing facility in the town, was attended by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, GF president and CEO Thomas Caulfield, and Lockheed Martin chairman, president, and CEO Jim Taiclet.

“GF is committed to innovation, our global manufacturing footprint, and enabling a more resilient semiconductor supply chain in the U.S. and abroad,” Caulfield said. “With the historic CHIPS and Science Act, Senator Schumer has put the U.S. on a path to globally competitive chip manufacturing (and) strengthening national defense and the economy.” 

The affiliation of GlobalFoundries and Lockheed Martin, which has a facility in Ballston Spa, “brings together two giants of Upstate New York industry to ensure that the chips used in the technology that keep our country and our troops safe are made right here in the Capital Region,” said Sen. Schumer, D-N.Y. “That means that more of the most complex, critical components we need to protect our national security going forward are going to be stamped ‘Made in New York.’ I wrote (the) CHIPS and Science Act to spark partnerships like this that will secure our domestic supply chains and lead to job growth and investment in places like Upstate New York.”

Schumer was the prime mover behind the CHIPS and Science Act, a $280 billion package passed by Congress last year that provides more than $52 billion in grants and other incentives for the semiconductor industry. 

The GF-Lockheed collaboration will focus on critical needs in semiconductor innovation and secure manufacturing across a range of advanced and next-generation chip technologies such as 3D heterogeneous integration for optimized chip packaging that improves performance; silicon photonics for low-power and high-speed data transport; and gallium nitride on silicon to help chips work at higher temperatures. The companies will also work to develop a chiplet ecosystem to produce chips more rapidly and affordably.

“We look forward to working closely with GlobalFoundries to help increase access to domestically produced microelectronics – a true national security imperative,” Taiclet said. “Lockheed Martin is striving to deliver cutting-edge 21st-century security technologies for the national defense of our country and its allies. One of the most crucial aspects of achieving this is the reliable and robust availability of U.S.-made semiconductors.” 

Caulfield said that GlobalFoundries “has been a trusted partner of the U.S. government and the aerospace and defense industry for decades,” adding that his company is “proud to collaborate with Lockheed Martin to address the growing need for a reliable supply of trusted, feature-rich semiconductors for mission-critical security systems.”

GlobalFoundries’ manufacturing facilities in New York and Vermont have “trusted foundry” accreditation from the Department of Defense and are authorized to produce secure chips for use in the nation’s most sensitive systems on land, air, sea, and in space. 

In addition to the new partnership, GF and Lockheed Martin will jointly pursue external funding opportunities, technology development, and collaboration with the U.S. government.